When Nicola had married Paolo Farenze, for nothing but love, his rich, aristocratic Florentine family, convinced she was a gold-digger, had refused to have anything to do with her. Now that Paolo was dead, leaving her with a baby son to bring up, she wanted to have nothing to do with them. But Paolo's forceful cousin Domenico had other ideas, and he persuaded Nicola, albeit reluctantly, to come back to Italy with him in order that the child should meet his father's family at last. The warmth of her welcome, and the admission on both sides that they had both been at fault, led to a happier understanding-and to Nicola's falling in love with Domenico. But wasn't he already destined for the far more suitable Bianca?