Macao, China, in 1839 is an exciting, exotic locale, but is being violently torn up by the ultimate clash of East and West, of godly corruption and heathen pride: the Opium Wars. Caught amid this upheaval is Kathleen Bellamy, blinded by fate but sensitive to the world around her. Even if she cannot see it, she can feel the turmoil in the air as it matches the conflict in her heart. Cheng Lo is the only man able to illuminate the dark depths of her soul. But she is, unfortunately, bound to her missionary father. Will their duties betray what their passions owe each other? Their love is forbidden and their future unseeable, but Kathleen's addiction to Cheng Lo is about to propel her into a world she can only imagine in her dreams.