They carried their past like porcelain-beautiful, brittle, and easily shattered . . . From the Court Jews of 18th century Europe to Napoleon and New York City's infamous gangs, The Porcelain Monkey follows a young German-Jewish couple as they flee family disapproval of their intended marriage. Escaping Jewish persecution following the German States' failure to unify in 1848, the star-crossed lovers leave Germany separately to meet in New York City. Fear that anti-Jewish sentiment could rise in the New World leads the conflicted couple to find an identity both can live with as they fall under the spell of Tammany Hall. Their story reaches from a destitute arrival in America to the Civil War and the roaring success that ultimately spells their unexpected fate.