Lucy's curiosity has endless scope in Boston, but when her family moves to a tiny northwest town, she's stuck with mud and trees. With a mouth quicker than caution, she soon betrays the only girl who's helped her, defends a boy she resents, and lands herself in the midst of a simmering stew of conflicts between settlers and Indians, with sailors and miners swirling in the midst. A scalping, a green-eyed farm boy and the nagging feeling that her mother is hiding something leave Lucy thinking a little boredom might be welcome.