In 1865, during the turmoil and anguish of the American Civil War, a Confederate warship from the Southern states requested permission from Sir Charles Darling, the Governor of Victoria, to dock in the neutral harbour of Port Phillip Bay for repairs. On board the Shenandoah were eleven prisoners who had been taken from enemy ships, one of whom was the beautiful and imperious wife of a Northern Union captain. (Publisher's blurb, back cover).
