William Romayne had been widely known and respected throughout Europe as a successful and distinguished financier. However, he turned out to be a swindler and a mastermind behind a banking fraud and when it was detected he committed suicide, leaving behind his wife and his son Julian. Mrs. Romayne has been hiding this secret from Julian for years, keeping him in a valiant ignorance, but as he grows and matures his true nature inevitably starts to appear.

Mary Angela Dickens (1862-1948) was an English novelist and journalist of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the oldest grandchild of the novelist Charles Dickens. She authored several popular sentimental and melodramatic novels and she also produced a number of books for children based on the novels of her grandfather.