The modest teacher Elinor Solway did not suspect that, having met the sister of Count Miguel de Castro, she would end up in distant Portugal and could become not a hired servant for noble southerners, but a close friend. When the clouds that had gathered over the descendants of the ancient family cleared, the girl was surprised to notice how dear to her was Don Miguel’s beautiful face, sadly overshadowed by grief and suffering. It is not etiquette and traditions that now separate the Portuguese count and the English teacher, but the secret that Miguel stubbornly keeps in his heart...