The daughter of a Mexican aristocrat endures the travails of the Mexican revolution.

Returning to the village of Bayport after twenty-two years, retired sea captain Cyrus Whittaker finds the community under the power of political boss Herman Atkins. Cy opposes Atkin's choice for the position of teacher and helps to elect Miss Daws instead, thus earning the enmity of the politician. One day, a young girl named Emily Thomas arrives with a note from Sarah Oliver, a relative of Cy, explaining that the girl is the daughter of his old sweetheart and that her father is in jail and her mother dead.

This epic traces, from the Beginning, the lineage of the race of peace-loving people. Mankind at its best is highlighted as greatness of character across the centuries is displayed: Noah heeding God's command, Moses leading the Israelities, Jesus Christ dying to save humanity and promote His message of peace. Moving into our modern epoch: Columbus's discovery of America, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation; A race of free humans committed to the proliferation of peace and freedom. What becomes of this race when autocratic powers threaten democracy in the time of the first World War?