In the aftermath of the Civil War, Adelaide Pride's former life of privilege has been swept away. The War has robbed her of family, fortune, and fiance, forcing her to find a way to earn a living. Her aristocratic background has not prepared her for the workaday world. Faced with the prospect of being a perennial 'poor relation, ' she reluctantly accepts the position of companion to a wealthy Yankee widow spending the winter at a Napa Valley health resort. California seems a land far removed from the ravages of War, rich, prosperous, with seemingly endless social opportunities. Here Addie meets new challenges and experiences and unexpected romantic choices that far exceed any of her dreams.
