It's 1788. Sisters Hannah, Abigail, and Thankful and their brother, Cabot, live in Salem, Massachusetts, a seafaring town bent on making money. The greediest of all, their father, Nathaniel, tyrannizes his family, favors the deceitful Thankful, and dislikes Cabot. Abigail taunts her father into sending her to her room, and elopes with Nate Videau to South Carolina.
Hannah wants to marry Richard Lander, but he's too busy overhauling his ship for a secret mission. The townsfolk suspect he's buying slaves, and disapprove. Handsome frontiersman Louis, who's also in love with Hannah, returns from Ohio with his daughter, a half-breed girl, for Hannah to raise. Thankful insists on accompanying her father and Louis back to Ohio, but she's captured by Native Americans. Will Hanna marry Richard? Will Thankful return? Read the next two books to find out.