A whiff of scandal has always clung about Caterina Fonsa. Ignoring it, she has lived quietly in early nineteenth-century Oporto, brought up her fatherless son, worked at her painting, and almost forgotten her lost lover. In 1832, everything changes when festering civil war in Portugal erupts into violence. Liberal Dom Pedro lands near Oporto to claim the throne for his daughter, Maria da Gloria, and the Portonians who welcome him find themselves under siege from his usurping brother, Dom Miguel. Old friends and old enemies converge on the beleaguered city, where Caterina is painting Dom Pedro's portrait and starting on a dangerous new career. She is soon being wooed again, while her son Lewis risks his life in Dom Pedro's service. There are surprises, and danger for him too. and much to learn. As always, Jane Aiken Hodge blends fact with fiction to tell a dramatic tale of love and war.