Chains of Hatred, Torrents of Greed

When Vincenzo Fragasso sets out to walk home from the La Scala opera house one cold January night in 1870, the violinist has no idea he'll soon be in America. After events tie him to the deaths of two Austrians, however, he and his young wife Almira are forced to flee Italy forever.

Years later, Vincenzo's son, Peter, travels from Rhode Island to Colorado to study gold and silver mining at the School of Mines. En route, Peter meets and falls for the beautiful Abby Taylor-running afoul of her bigoted, anti-Catholic mother, Anne.

When Peter and Abby's long-distance correspondence leads to love, Anne is determined to avoid the scandal of becoming mother-in-law to a common Italian immigrant. Using every weapon at her disposal, she attempts to sever the young lovers' relationship, and when her manipulative efforts fail, she begins to plot a more violent, permanent solution.

Anne finds no shortage of allies among the American Protective Association, while Peter's brash, honest demeanor earns him enemies in the railroad industry. And while seemingly forgotten, the consequences of that cold January night in Milan are also converging on the Fragasso family-consequences that could prove as deadly as Anne's intentions.