His mother's impish favorite, Eugene O'Reilly is pushed out of Ireland after playing a minor role in the failed 1848 rising. Serving under the Ottoman Turks and their sultan he goes from imprisoned detainee in 1848 to being tapped to escort the Prince of Wales into Damascus on the prince's 1862 tour. Carrying his own secrets, he is sent into exile accompanied by Mathilda Solomassy, his loving bride who has yet to learn how terribly she has been wronged and has given up everything to be at his side. Then the excitement starts. Fleeing to America with a hurt that cannot end she makes a new life in the land of second chances with a new love, son of a Virginia planter turned cotton broker. Will their grief destroy them or can they overcome their past in the hustle and bustle of 1890's New York City? Based on a true story with two love stories that span a century and three continents the narrative begins.