I have always hated my name, though perhaps I did noteven know that until I told him what it was—Harriet, Isaid in a loud, clear voice because he was foreign and Ithought he might not understand unless I spoke very distinctly, even though he had addressed the question tome in what seemed to be unusually good English—and hesimply looked at me for a moment, and I began to think he really hadn't understood me. It was quite odd……

At the dawn of the electrical age in America, with the nation teetering on the brink of war,an unlikely but powerful romance is set in motion.

While designing a revolutionary water turbine, penniless immigrant Toma Pekocevic meets and falls inlove with aristocratic Harriet Bigelow. Yet circumstances areagainst them and while Toma's professional success grows,  he loses Harriet to a wealthy politician.