The novel Lucia tells the story of love between a man and a woman of Portuguese nobility - a love which will last beyond their tragic and unexpected death despite the obstacles and prejudices of their time as well as the temptation to merge the living world with that of the ethereal in the magical vessel of love. This love story also impels an a new romance some 200 years later between two young people searching for their soul mates, their "other half," that special person capable of understanding the other's soul. The happy ending of the latter love story allows a happy ending to the whole novel, including the earlier pair of lovers, who finally found their peace together, next to their child, defying time as well as the earthly, material world so full of failings, pretense, and prejudice.