Rebecca Throckmorton has been reared by Puritans in England, and thinks she knows all about obedience and faith. In 1631, she travels with her husband and young children to the Massachusetts Bay colony. Aboard the same ship is Roger Williams, the hot-tempered, radical husband of Rebecca's best friend. Upon arrival in the Americas, the Throckmortons and Williams embark on an intellectual journey, exploring liberty of conscience. When the Puritan authorities excommunicate them, these families travel south to establish Providence, Rhode Island, the "freest place on earth." A disastrous attempt...

Catherine Throckmorton has accepted her role as a wealthy, proper spinster in colonial New Jersey. Forced to marry a Quaker, she is caught between her husband's pacifism and her own family's violent patriotism. The American Revolution sweeps her into the Battle of Monmouth, and leaves her struggling to preserve her family in the volatile aftermath.

This story, although fictionalized, contains detailed, factual information about the Battle of Monmouth and the history of Monmouth County, New Jersey. All of the main characters are historic figures. Underlying the tale is a continuation of the...

Aaltje Hendrickson, the Dutch housemaid, is seduced in 1797 by Richard Norris, the spoiled son of her wealthy employer. She marries Richard, and spends her life bearing his children and keeping his household. When he moves his family from New Jersey to Indiana in 1811, there is no choice for Aaltje but to accompany him, making the best of earthquakes, bizarre weather, and disease. When Richard with others establishes the new town of Aurora, Indiana, he dedicates it as a monument to his wife.

Written as fiction, this story is built on the genealogy of the Norris and Hendrickson families,...