Journalist Joanna Millard, who has traveled to the Portuguese town of Faro to escape an unhappy love affair and a stalled career, meets Nathan Emberlin, a charming young man with a mysterious past. Nathan's recent discovery of his adoption has led him to believe he is one of several children abducted from the area decades ago. With Joanna's help, the two embark on an odyssey that will take them deep into Portuguese history, particularly the dark years during WWII, when Portugal was under Nazi influence and its economy was overrun by corruption and the ravages of wartime. Joanna's discoveries lead her to Ian Rylands, an English expat who insists the solution to the puzzle is to be found in The Alliance, a novel written by Esta Hartford that recounts her personal and professional experiences in Portugal during the war. As Joanna delves deeper into the mystery, she begins to suspect the novel and Nathan's story may be one and the same.