The journey from Lancaster, England, to Vienna takes only a couple of days, yet Toby Burgate knows that he has crossed the border into a different world. Certainly the Vienna of 1912—crossroads of Europe, heart of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, music capital of the world, hotbed of revolutionary ideas in music, psychology, and architecture—stands in marked contrast to the small town in northern England and its even smaller, tight-knit religious community from which Toby has come.

Toby’s first encounters with the glamorous city shock him to the core. Its culture, its anti-Semitism, and particularly its music, all bring into question his cherished, inherited beliefs. He must ask himself whether he really knows this God to whom he has given lip-service all his life.

And then there is Sally—the friendly, fun-loving music student who, with her friends, has introduced him to a wider world. He cannot put her out of his heart; yet she is not “one of the Lord’s People.” The elders’ dire warnings about such “unequally yoked” relationships ring in his mind. In light of his deepening faith, what will Toby do about his feelings for her?