I Met Her in Vienna

It's 1926, and Liam Cassidy, the youngest son of an Irish Shipping and Trading family, is an ambitious merchant mariner with an eye for an opportunity. Aboard one of the family's tramp steamers, he gravitates to the Far East, picking up cargoes where he can, but this doesn't fit his dream, his Odyssey, of building a modern shipping line.On their way to Tokyo, they rescue three men, Prince Hiroshi Kenso, cousin of Emperor Hirohito; Toshi, his mentor and manservant; and Wolfgang (Wolfie) von Bulow, Assistant German Naval Attache to Japan from shark-infested waters after their yacht sunk during a typhoon. Seizing upon his newfound friendship with Prince Hiroshi, he establishes business connections with a consortium of Japan's most prominent corporations, securing perpetual contracts with them resulting in lucrative trade between Japan and Europe.The story sees Liam and his new friends caught up in an unstoppable path through the Great Depression, the Japanese military's aggressive growth, and the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.On a visit to Vienna, Liam meets Magriet Van Doorf, an expert art restorer from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. An instant connection forms between them, and after a rapid romance of one week, they fall madly in love and decide to marry.He continues to prosper and grow his business, seizing upon every opportunity ignoring the troubling events around him. However, he sensibly arms his vessels and trains his crew in their use, a decision that proves fortuitous when rioters attack them in Shanghai and pirates off the coast of Sumatra. It's becoming a dangerous world!