In Castillionnes, France, in 2014, a 17th-century purse containing 45 Spanish gold coins is discovered in a wall in a derelict house.Near Seville in 1634, Alejandro and Maria-Theresa Vasquez are preparing to travel to Paris. During their perilous journey, bandits, plague and illness take their toll.In the autumn of that year, Robert Dubois, a French farmer, and his son leave their farm near Auch and journey towards Bordeaux, where they will board a ship bound for Quebec. On their journey, they visit a relative in Castillionnes and here, Robert meets Marguerite. France is suffering the effects of the religious wars and during a bombardment by the Huguenot army from Bergerac, they flee and journey on to Bordeaux. On the ship crossing to Quebec, they meet the Le Creux family.The story begins to unfold when at Bodium Castle in 2012, a Canadian woman presents a Spanish gold cross for valuation at the Antiques Road Show.