Paloma Montalvo was just sixteen when Paul Turner rescued her from the clutches of a rapist. Once he had seen her safely home, he drove away, which should have been the end of it, but their brief encounter would profoundly impact them for the rest of their days.

Paloma is the American-born daughter of illegal immigrants. Paul is the only child of sharecroppers who work a hundred-and-sixty-acre plot of hardscrabble high prairie. Both share one essential goal-to escape the small rural town they were born in as soon as they were able.

Paul chose the Army, Special Forces training, and the perils of Vietnam, where he would discover a hidden talent that would alter his future in ways he could never have imagined.

Alluring and intelligent, Paloma becomes entangled in a torrid affair with a handsome new, young teacher, Justin Roberts. A jealous girlfriend will expose their affair and send Justin to flee prosecution. Had it not been for the fateful rescue of a classmate from a burning automobile, Paloma would have been stuck in Tabersville. However, the wealthy family of the girl she saves rewards her with a college scholarship that will lead to a medical degree.

Paul's break comes when a gallery owner recognizes his innate talent and helps him become a much sought-after portrait painter. They will both end up in Chicago, where they encounter Sydney Wilson. The world-savvy daughter of a wealthy banker, she must battle foreign criminal elements trying to undermine and control her family business after her father's unexpected passing.

Flawed and susceptible to their intrinsic ambitions, these three will ascend to the pinnacles of their professions but at a substantial personal cost.

Compromise, seduction, lost love, misplaced loyalty, and regret for missed opportunities are the essential elements of this saga that spans two generations and three continents.