Gilland Ambrose, a 19th-century English trading magnate, has journeyed to Venice to strike a deal with shipping magnate Jacamello Grossini. He plans to secure both a partnership with the Grossini family's company and a wife for his son William. But his most ardent wish is to expand the range of the Ambrose family's skills, specifically the talent that Signore Grossini's beautiful daughter Anna Luca possesses. She is a "traveler," which means that she has mastered the art of teleportation. This union between her and his son will ensure that future Ambrose progeny have the power to protect the riches and skills they already possess. But what seems so easy at first soon is rife with intrigue and tragedy. The Ambrose doublecross the Grossini, who levy a curse against their former partners, a deadly curse that no amount of time will erase. In present-day Dallas, Texas, an unknown Ambrose heir, Conrad Lancaster, has written a book. He unwittingly gives away the secret whereabouts of the Texas-born Ambrose family. In committing to paper a story which he believes to be family lore, he jeopardizes not only his own life but also the lives of the rest of his family and of his partner Anthony Holt. His novel Sons of the Ambrose sets in motion a potentially deadly game of hide and seek which the Grossini have waited centuries to play. Because they are all now in danger, Conrad's father Douglas insists that Conrad meet immediately with his Great-aunt Agathe Millingroad Ambrose in upstate New York. It is she who will answer his questions and decide if he is to inherit and manage the Ambrose wealth and finally bring their influential family out of the shadows and into the 21st century. Upon receiving a ransom note after the Grossinis kidnap Conrad en route, Agathe "awakens the family's tremendous resources" to rescue her grand-nephew. Agathe also acts to safeguard Conrad's partner Anthony Holt in the security of Villa da JA ni, the Ambrose palatial estate. There, the young man learns part of the history lesson meant for his partner. Awaiting news of Conrad, Agathe speaks of the Ambrose family and its beginning amid the tumultuous years of the Caesars of early 1st-century Rome. She shares details as to how CyriA cus, the earliest son of the AmbrA sius, takes advantage of the times to create the family's large fortune and later creates The Trust, or FA dA cia, to dictate how future generations inherit the family's wealth. Written in Latin, the extremely delicate scrolls handed down from CyriA cus contain this history and are also a source of wisdom and revelation. Meanwhile, Conrad inexplicably puts his captor and others nearby into a deep sleep and, in so doing, escapes. Upon his safe return, he spends time at the villa with Agathe and learns the secrets behind the family's glittering wealth. She teaches him about his skills and the reason the family has survived two millennia: Their powers include distinct levels of empathic and psychic ability. Among these are the impressive powers of being able to see and also change the future, or destiny determination, as well as the rarest of all-teleportation, or traveling. To fend off further attacks from the house of Grossini, the Ambrose family unite behind Great-aunt Agathe Ambrose, Conrad, and Anthony. The ancient family's supernatural abilities that have kept them safe since the fall of Rome are put to the ultimate test as Conrad's own psychic and empathic powers continue to increase. Enter a handsome and cool teenager named Jackson Haynes Van Keele. A direct descendant of both families, he begins to win gymnastic competitions with stunning success even though he is unaware of the origin of the power he possesses. As if by prophecy, Jackson joins the Ambrose as the only known "traveler" among the modern family. With the family's help, he fights the Grossinis on their own level and changes the lives of both families, forever.
