The year is 1721, and handsome young Adam Hanaway has arrived in Lisbon, where his uncle is a merchant, hoping to restore the family fortune that was devastated the previous year. But almost nothing turns out as Adam planned. His family's welcome is cool, and his rise to the top is thwarted by his uncle's treacherous head clerk, Bartolomeu Gomes. Nor is Adam, with his gaudy clothes and swagger, an immediate success with fellow merchants. Of course there are many pretty distractions around, such as the incomparably sweet Gabriella. Then darker forces intervene, and Adam is expelled from the family firm for a crime of which he is innocent. Somehow he must clear his name, win his love, and make his fortune.