The conclusion to Michaels saga of the Colemans and the Thorntons. Fanny Thornton Reed， proud matriarch of the Thornton dynasty， schemes to keep her family together， even as they find their own lives in the far-flung reaches of the globe. When she sets up her late husband s illegitimate son to run Babylon， their successful casino， Fanny soon finds that her own four children have turned against her.