Eli is the personal assistant/bodyguard for the one of the most prosperous ranchers in New Mexico Territory at the turn of the Twentieth century. The Emperor, as Eli calls his boss, has a mysterious past, no one quite knows exactly how he came to the Territory, though there are plenty of rumors. In 1908, Eli finds out the truth when the Emperor's relatives from England come for a visit. Could it be that he and the man he's been working for all these years have more in common than he knew? And can the two of them make a life together despite their relatives?