After abandoning her bastard child, Ellen met a middle aged American who took her as Celine, the name she gave him, to America. Twenty years later, she would take Magnus Eden, a young playwright, to be her lover. With the death of Horace her husband, she felt a solid grip on Magnus' affection until a return to La Playa unravelled Magnus' true identity and challenged her vow not to let him go even if it would mean crying to other gods.