Once upon a time, a boy met a girl, and they fell in love. This was no ordinary love, just as this is no ordinary story. They first set eyes on each other in a crowded restaurant. They talked, nothing more. And yet each felt the connection between them. It was the beginning of a profound love that would survive extraordinary trials.

The couple had much in common. On the surface they had every advantage, being attractive, well-educated and popular. Yet behind the mask of good fortune was a more complicated reality. Both were the products of unconventional childhoods. Both desperately wanted to escape their family backgrounds. And this was the rub. The boy and girl came from opposite ends of the social spectrum.