Emma and Jonathan Carter, aboard the steamboat Carter's Dream on her maiden voyage up the Big Muddy, head toward a new beginning in the wild, emerging town of Independence. From their newly opened store, Carter's Mercantile Too, they hope to make their fortune outfitting traders, trappers, and emigrants heading west into Indian Territory. The years in Independence, and later Westport, bring both joy and pain as Emma and Jonathan face would-be robbers, a "star shower," the fear brought by not one, but two outbreaks of Cholera, the devastation of the Great Flood of 1844, the joy of a new life and pain of death, the uncertainty of the expolding hostilities of the Border War, and just plain growing old. One of their greatest joys, however, is the purchase of the land that would become White Oaks, the ranch that signified the fulfillment of everything they'd worked for over the years. Through all their experiences, whether good or bad, there was one thing that always sustained Emma and Jonathan - their love. A love that gave them the strength to endure whatever confronted them - as long as they faced it together.