Eliza is abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of Rose and Jeremy Sommers. The brother and sister have immigrated to Valparaiso, Chile, from England along with their other brother, John, a sea captain. The three siblings agree to take her in and raise her as a member of their family. Much of her upbringing is left to Mama Fresia, the head of the servants in the household, but Rose keeps her hand in as well.