Newly returned from the Napoleonic wars, Raul Beringer discovers that the legacy of his late father's wine business in Madeira is not a straightforward business. As well as contending with the enmity of his younger brother, Maynard, he has just learnt that the company now belongs in part to a unknown English girl.
Under the terms of his father's will, whoever makes the most profit from their inheritance in a year gains overall control of the company. The battle commences -- but is there more than money at stake?