This work tells the tale of Walter Damrosch, an America musician, whose father, Leopold, helped found the New York Oratorio Society. His father was a good friend of Liszt and Wagner, who Walter met on a trip to Europe. He founded the Damrosch Opera Company, which featured such operas as The Scarlet Letter and Gotterdammerung. He and his family were some of the most influential persons on music in New York.