"It has the unmistakable dignity of art. Very few historical novels can make that statement." New York Times
Emily Ashburn lost her husband and children to cholera on the brutal journey west on the Oregon trail. In her grief and loneliness, she marries strong, silent Jim Riley, a man with a murderous secret. Now the couple are making a life for themselves in the wilderness. But they aren't alone. There's also frontiersman Zack Trimble and Mariposa, his hot-blooded, half-Indian, teenage lover. The lives of these two couples become intertwined as they struggle for survival against native Americans, warring settlers, the ravages of nature, and their own, uncontrollable passions.