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A child of unknown origin, Augustino Marsano is left on the doorstep of a foundling home in Sicily. He is soon adopted by a middle-aged farming couple from a nearby village. By the time he is 15 both parents have passed away. He subsequently leaves Sicily and heads northward to Naples where he becomes an apprentice in the craft of shoemaking. There he meets Francesca, a young girl who works as barmaid at her father's inn. They fall in love and soon marry. Through time he gains expertise in his craft and eventually opens a small factory. His business flourishes, they live comfortably, and have a daughter Micha whom they adore. They decide to hire a Antonia, a married woman with three small children. She and Augustino drift into an affair; she becomes pregnant. Fearing the child may be his, Augustino decides the only way out of this dilemma is to take his family and immigrate to America.They settle in Lynn, Massachusetts, and soon realize that life in America is far different than what they had expected. He finds work in a shoe factory but his lack of English forces him to settle for a menial job. Four months after their arrival, a distraught Antonia appears. Her husband was killed in a raid; fearful that her life and that of her children's may be in jeopardy, she turns to the only person who can help Augustino. Accompanying her and her three children is an infant son whom Augustino learns is his. Faced with an agonizing decision, Augustino chooses to leave his family and start a new life with his former housekeeper.Francesca is left alone with full responsibility of rearing her daughter Micha. They move to Brooklyn, then eventually relocate to Avalon, a booming industrial town in the upper part of the state. She forges ahead and becomes a successful first as owner of a boarding house, then proprietor of a saloon. Along the way she becomes acquainted with Steve DeMarco, a wealthy banker who is married with two children. They are magically drawn together and find thems