The moment wealthy, headstrong Isabel McIntire walked away from her father's deathbed, she realized her life was, once again, her own. She would reclaim her place in Louisville's high society. No one, she vowed, not even her older brother James or her only sister Helen, would interfere. Isabel thought she had succeeded. Her daughter Etta in turn embraced her mother's favorite lyric La Vincero as her own motto. For both of them, the words meant I will win my battles, I will conquer my enemies, I will overcome all obstacles. And they tried to conquer, but with oh so different consequences.