October 26,1588. A Spanish warship of the Armada wrecks in a storm on the coast of Northern Ireland. In 1967, divers find the Girona's remains and recover its treasures. As our story begins five years later, it seems these relics still have the power to inspire the best and worst of human endeavor. HE'S LOOKING FOR AN ILL-FATED RELATIVE. AN ILL FATE IS LOOKING FOR HIM. July 4, 1972. A restless young Californian arrives in western Ireland to search for a long-lost relative and ponder his uncertain future. He soon intervenes in a peculiar robbery of a jewelry store, and is invited to stay with the shopkeeper and her niece. His persistent inquiries with the local Garda sergeant lead to investigations of two possible conspiracies involving ancient Spanish treasure and arms smuggling—with dangerous consequences. When his findings begin to threaten powerful interests, the conspirators mark him for elimination. Meanwhile, the niece helps him look for the lost relative, and they find more than either had imagined. As his time in Ireland runs short, frustration builds: their budding attraction, his family search, the criminal investigations—all seem to be going nowhere. Then, everything changes . . . The plot unfolds against a background of Ireland's Troubles and the Vietnam War. At its heart, the novel is a love story in which echoes of history transform lives through unexpected means.
