More than a city, it was a way of living, of loving and sometimes of betraying that no other place on earth could match for heartbreak...and golden dreams. From the final years of the war to the days of Reconstruction, to the beginnings of the Ragtime Era, the struggle of an unforgettable family and the city they loved comes dynamically to life. At its center is Elizabeth Tradd. She is a child who sees the horrors war can bring, a girl who learns the worst that men can do and a woman who discovers the breathtaking passion that comes to but a lucky few...in a story that captures an extraordinary family history of courage, commitment and unassailable love.