In a saga that follows the changes in fortune of the Gregory family over several generations, Janet Robertson combines fictional characters and events with elements taken from the true story of her great-great grandfather Captain Allen Gardiner RN as well as other aspects of her family history and her own life. The story spans two centuries and takes place in locations as far apart as England, Australia and New Zealand. Running like a thread throughout this family saga is the aftermath of a tragic incident that took place in the nineteenth century. This fateful event, whose echoes reverberate down the generations, is brought finally to a conclusion in the twenty-first century, thus healing a long unrighted wrong. Key to the lives and events of each succeeding generation is the presence of a beautiful, red-haired, green-eyed daughter.