This is a work of fiction that is informally based on a real person, Annie Ferdinand. Annie is believed to have been born into a noble family in Prussia in 1851. Her mother died when she was very young, a loss that affected both her and her father significantly and she travelled to London, England with him to support him while he negotiated the return of his estate, which had been seized by the French during the Franco-Prussian war. Annie was devoted to her father, but yearned for the company of someone who would love her as much as her father loved and cherished the memory of her mother....