On foot, on horseback, in covered wagons and mule carts they came, traversing treacherous rivers and wild plains in search of the Promised Land, drawn ever westward by the promise of the new American frontier. Katherine Carlyle, a desperate woman with a violent past, leaves behind the graves of her family and the only home she has ever known in search of a new life. An unwanted passenger on a westward bound flatboat, she is forced into the role of hero when catastrophe strikes and only she has the skill—and the courage—to lead a band of women and children through the wilderness to safety. Byrd Kincaid, trapper, trader, adventurer and river pilot, is interested in only one thing: survival. His chances of survival are cut in half the minute he hooks up with Katherine Carlyle’s ragtag band of refugees, but he knows he has no choice. Together Katherine and Byrd must overcome fire, flood and the vicious vengeance of evil men before claiming their destiny: a dynasty that will tame a wild land and build a civilization.