Marjory is faced with some difficult decisions when her mother dies, and she must find a new destiny for herself and her family. With the help of Walter Wilkins, the young man assigned to drive their team, Marjory must find a courage equal to the task ahead of her and the strength to accept what may be the hardest thing of all-true love.

In the turbulent mid-1800s, Charity Morgan, a businesslike young woman whose devout religious community is losing its Pennsylvania homestead to the economic recession, and the other members make plans to form a wagon train to Oregon, where free land is plentiful.

A young survivor of the tragic Donner Party of 1846 describes how her family and others became victims of freezing temperatures and starvation.

"Mrs. Jacob Klein has a husband, children, and a warm and comfortable home in California. No one--not even her family--knows how she came to be out West thirteen years ago. Jacob, a kind and patient man, has promised not to ask. But if she were to tell her story, she would recount a tale of tragedy, mishaps, and unthinkable choices--yet also sacrifice, courage, and a powerful, unexpected love... 1846: On the outskirts of Cincinnati, wagons gather...