With her father dying of starvation, Lucia had little alternative but to sell his paintings, how and when she could. In desperation she accosted the Marquis of Wynchcombe who, bored with life and his Venetian mistress, sat taking coffee outside Florian's cafe. This meeting with a seeming beggar girl was to mean danger and an agonizing dilemma for the Marquis. It was not until Lucia revealed an astonishing secret that his kisses could be allowed to bring a fire that seemed to burn into her very heart.