In the beautiful Chianti hills of Tuscany, Contessa Caterina di Lorenzano, heiress of a 600 year old wine estate, schemes to make a wine that will rival Bordeaux. Wills clash and tempers flare during the turmoil of the 1960s, as peasant radical Rico Rucai, in love with Caterina, tries to convert the village of Lorenzano into a Marxist collective. Enter his rival, brash American Hank Green, and fanatical Nicoletta Ardeni, a member of the Red Brigade. Pitted against them all is the sinister and powerful Marchese di Rinaldi, who seduces Caterina's pious sister, Francesca, and orders his henchman, Pippo Scarani, to forge a secret deal with a California wine czar. Caught between cultures and aspirations, the characters struggle to find their place in the context of global ambition and economic success. At stake is the future of Chianti, the blood of Jove. Italy or California? Globalization or Marxist politics? Can love-and the village- survive the cross winds of revolution and economic domination?