By the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, sleeps Puerto Bagdad, a magical port town that would soon be lost to history. In the summer of 1855 a ship approaching the Mexican port loses its battle against a fierce storm and sinks into the sea. Tomas Lopez, a twelve-year-old peasant, spots a child among the wreckage and takes her to his mother who calls the child Manuela and raises her as her own. Twelve years later, the Confederacy arrives for trade of arms and supplies in the American Civil War and brings with it wealth, corruption and political strife. In this setting Manuela comes of age. Even...