Trouble brews for Monarchs Maximilian and Charlotte, two of the most unfortunate characters ever snubbed by history. Meanwhile, their young Master Brewer, August, tracks a rapist in 1860s Mexico. Patriarch Burke Kaufmann's nephew, August, is embroiled in a horrible incident when the baby of his girlfriend Kancy is found murdered. August's father begs Burke to get his son safely out of Portland, and luck shines. The Austrian Prince Maximilian, recently crowned Emperor of Mexico by Napoleon, suddenly finds himself short a master-brewer. August agrees to go, but only to find Kancy's cowardly brother, Pearl, and punish him for his role in the tragedy. Max is an emperor without a country; Charlotte is a mother without a child. Both are seduced into making Mexico their family and their hope. But when global politics threaten to tear the monarchs and the country apart, will August abandon his vengeance to save them?