When one of the largest earthquakes in history hits Lisbon on All Saints' Day 1755, Cecília de Santa Rita e Durante's life is turned upside down. With her family possibly dead, she must wade through the ruins that were once her home with the help of John Bates. The English Protestant represents everything she was taught to hate, but he is her only hope of making it through the newly destroyed Lisbon. Faced with both unspeakable tragedy and an unexpected miracle at home, Cecília leans on John for support. When he leaves, she is forced to reconcile her feelings for him with her long-held beliefs. Left carrying a torch for a man she never should have met, she's cast into a web of deception, religious upheaval, and political intrigue that leaves her on even shakier ground. The Stars of Heaven explores a clash of cultures between the European Age of Enlightenment and the Portuguese Inquisition as Cecília navigates the uncharted waters of her new life.