She crossed an ocean to escape the suffering of famine-torn Ireland. Haunted by loss, but determined to build a life in the New World, Gracelin O'Malley then crosses the country with her young children to accept a San Francisco sea captain's practical proposal of marriage. But when she arrives, he is not there, and the City of Gold is no place for widows and children. When a prominent doctor offers her work in his household, Grace accepts, only to become embroiled in blackmail and betrayal at the hands of his troubled sister. As past catches up to present, Grace discovers that the city harbors one man she'd thought lost to her, and their reunion sets in motion a series of events that affects the future of everyone around them. But as Grace prepares to wed, there is one last ghost to face.