The war fought on the battlefield had ended but the real fight was about to begin: that which might be described as, To the winner belongs the spoils. Federal agents had arrived in England to go through the bank accounts of those whose allegiance had sided with the late Confederacy – claiming their war profiteering as restitution. Realizing if they did not act quickly, Rudy Blake’s fortune, earned as a blockade-runner and entrepreneur, would be forfeit, Rose Theodore takes the wounded man to Liverpool where they begin the arduous and dangerous task of securing his wealth. Completing the first leg of their journey, they return by carriage to London. Desiring to divert Rudy’s mind from his physical debilities, Rose asks him to describe for her his early days in New Orleans as he established himself as a riverboat gambler. In need of rediscovering his own shattered identity, Rudy begins the tale as he first stepped ashore from the deck of the Bonita where he had served as a common sailor on the voyage from San Francisco. With little more than a poor stake in his pockets, the twenty-four year old Rudy Blake sets out establishing himself in what he presumes will be his permanent home: the culturally-diverse city of New Orleans. Learning the ropes the hard way after discovering gamblers had their own dues to pay, he manages to earn enough for a new wardrobe before entering the wild and unpredictable life as a card shark aboard the magnificent and not-always-what-they-seem Mississippi steamers. Success came easily, but before he could congratulate himself on his prowess with the pasteboards, he runs afoul of a sore loser and is unceremoniously beaten nearly to death. Saved by a woman who would play a pivotal role in his life, Cora Summers takes the wounded man back to the bordello where she works. In the months it takes him to recover, Rudy learns the ins-and-outs of prostitution, changing his perceptions and altering him in ways he never dreamed possible. Admitted into the sordid world of working women, Rudy becomes their champion, listening to their troubles and offering advice while occasionally frightening them with his dark outlook on life. In lighter moments, he escorts the girls to the Peep and Show Fair and entertains them while earning his keep as a piano player. When finally healed in body and spirit, he returns to the steamboats where a race upriver to St. Louis marks his life and expectations in ways he never imagined. With the tale half completed, he and Rose resume their quest to save his money which has always been to him, the root of all good.