Maggie O'Toole was the pampered daughter of a well off banker in Port Royal in the 1800's; until that fateful day she came home to find she wasn't who she thought she was. As soon as she walked in the door, the house keeper, Mrs. Harper, told her that her father wanted to see her in the study. Once she had entered and sat down, he began to tell her about her mother. He explained that he wasn't really her father; he was her mother's brother, Cyrus. He explained that when Maggie's mother arrived at his home, she had a cold and it wasn't long before it progressed into pneumonia. She was sent to a hospital and soon went into labor and eventually gave birth to Maggie. But, between the advanced pneumonia and being in labor for over two days, her health failed and she died not long after making Cyrus swear to raise Maggie as his daughter. Cyrus told her that her real father had found out about her and been granted custody. They packed up some of Maggie's possessions and took the two day train trip to Cedar Falls. That night at supper, when the hotel owner's wife was serving them, Maggie learned some people would shun her because her parents weren't married. It made her feel dirty.