Only a few months earlier, the young woman now known as Jane Smith had lived a life of luxury and privilege as the ruler of a small Balkan kingdom. She lived a life of glittering balls, the finest furnishings, the most handsome men, the most exquisite of foods. Her only friends were four bearded old men who served as her cabinet, and worshiped the ground she walked on. 

Then the Germans had marched in, and she and her four councilors barely escaped with their lives. When at last Jane Smith shepherded her elderly charges down the gangplank and into Manhattan, they had only a few hundred dollars left and, used to every luxury, found themselves living in a shabby old brownstone. Jane had solved many problems and survived many dangers to reach the land of liberty. But her troubles were only beginning. 

An unprecedented new challenge faced her. They were safe…but how would they earn their way in this bustling new land? And if they did find a way, Jane knew she would have to take charge, remaking herself and her companions. For the qualities that had made her friends with the leading statesmen in Europe in no way qualified them for jobs in New York’s melting pot. 

What was she to do and how would she do it? And most importantly, who was she in the absence of royal power and prestige? How would she house and feed herself, let alone the four whose lives and welfare were in her hands? She needed to find work she could do, earn their living and prove herself as worthy a citizen as any other American. But nothing in her previous life or training had prepared her for such a challenge.