Virginia City is not the average nineteenth-century mining town. This bustling city boasts running water, gas lights, a thriving opera, and is home to a host of remarkable residents. Nothing about Virginia City is ordinary, including the children who come of age in her extraordinary atmosphere. Two of these daughters are Lisa Lomerson and Maura Sullivan. Lisa, daughter of a Swedish grocer and English schoolteacher, is dreamy and idealistic. Maura, daughter of a rich Irish mine owner, is a woman who knows her own mind and will not allow anyone or anything to stand in the way of her desires. But strength and independence of spirit are not always conducive to happiness. Lisa falls in love with a young Chinese man, and prejudice against the young couple erupts into violence. Maura survives an abusive marriage to seek fulfillment in unacceptable liaisons, stock speculation, and the silver mining that dominates Virginia City life. As the silver strike drops from boom to bust, both women face what appear to be impossible decisions in this engrossing tale of courage and passion.