Summary

The prologue opens with a description of a land claimed by Native peoples before the spread of illnesses or the colonization of the French and Spanish. When Thomas Jefferson becomes the president, a man named Bayard Builbert leaves Saint-Domingue for a modest bit of land. He knows that he will make his fortune for generations to come. He had planned to return triumphant to France and marry his love, and decided to kidnap and marry her daughter to ensure that he would never be looked down upon again. In 1793, Bayard buys gifts for the 13-year old Sylvie, and works through a broker to speak to her. She dismisses his gift, but the broker says she can marry Bayard for protection. She demands that they write a contract for her to keep the vineyard. Two days later, the two are married and...