“If you make money it is a degradation.” Such is the inherited viewpoint of the princely families of Roman society as the nineteenth century enters its last decade. When Don Orsino Saracinesca, eldest son of the Prince of Sant’ Ilario, makes a break with tradition to take his chances in the world of business, he quickly realizes the fine lines between ally and adversary in commerce, between the domains of politics and finance, and between material success and moral dishonor. Supplied with the necessary capital by the villainous Ugo Del Ferice, Don Orsino soon makes a name for himself in the construction and real estate markets. Yet when his attraction to the mysterious figure of Maria Consuelo d’Aranjuez draws the attention of the dangerous Count Spicca, Orsino finds himself with a pivotal part to play in correcting deception with truth and reckoning the past with the present. A truly wise literary architect, as Stephen Schmalhofer remarks in his Introduction, F. Marion Crawford proves once again with characteristic assurance and style that “the real will outlast the false, that the stone will outlive the stucco and that the builder of today is but a builder of card-houses beside the architects who made Rome.” A tale of speculation and sacrifice, of betrayal and unrequited love, Don Orsino continues the Saracinesca story in highly rewarding fashion.