Driven into exile from Spain in 1577 to escape the threat of death by the Inquisition, the Robledo family immigrates first to New Spain and then joins the Onate colonial expedition in 1596 to New Mexico.

In the winter of 1637, Luis de Rosas, a tough, two-fisted soldier, stood outside the convent door beating on its staves with a gloved hand. Appointed to the governorship of New Mexico, he had petitioned the viceregal authorities for permission to set out from the city of Mexico for Santa Fe in advance of the regular supply caravan. While he was initially obliged to curb his restlessness, he could wait no longer. He wanted the supply wagons loaded and for Fray Tomas Manso and the men of his escort to hit the trail. Who could know that, in his impatience to begin his long journey and thus...

Yearning for his roots and for a return to the land of his birth, Lucero follows two families across 12 generations, from their entry into New Mexico at "La Toma del Rio del Norte," in 1598, to their achievement of statehood in 1912 and beyond.

The land to the south of the "villa" of Santa Fe was a series of ridges, like ripples in the earth. Indians standing on the roofs of the "casas reales" in the pre-dawn hours of December 16, 1693, could see across the ruins of the village to the hills beyond. The sun was just beginning to light the mountains to the east. Across the snowy hills came a winding army of men, wagons, and stock riding up from the south. The army, as warlike in appearance as any that ever marched to meet an opposing force, came slowly, a long beige snake spiked with muskets, horse snaffles, and lances glinting in the...