The novel addresses the tribulations of Cap'n Zelotes Snow whose orphaned grandson, Alberto Miguel Carlos Speranza, comes to live with him. Speranza is the son of Snow's daughter who married a Spanish opera singer against her parent's wishes while she was away at school. The proud Cap'n Snow initially has trouble accepting his grandson, calling him a half-breed, and describing him as descended from a "Portygee", and a "macaroni-eater".