In 1754 Andrea Memmo, the dashing and gifted scion of a distinguished Catholic family, fell in love with the beautiful Giustiniana Wynne, a match which the rules of the time forbade. Their impossible love was to last six tumultuous years. The lovers chased each other through peeling palazzos, ballrooms, salons, theatres and gambling dens, rubbing shoulders with Canaletto, Tiepolo and others. Increasingly desperate, they decided Giustiniana should marry so they could continue to see one another. She passed a summer flirting with the English patron of the arts, Consul Joseph Smith, while writing comical letters to her lover nearby. But Smith soon realized the deception. The affair became public, with disastrous consequences. The lovers' friend, Casanova, was imprisoned for his pernicious influence. Disgraced, Giustiniana left for Paris, where she launched herself into society. Another marriage was scuppered when she found herself pregnant. She gave away her child, but the rumours were unstoppable. Once again, Giustiniana was exiled, this time to London, but found that no amount of certificates confirming her station could gain her access to the circles that might deliver that elusive spouse. In 1760 Giustiniana made her way back to Italy, full of fear and longing.