When a mob shot Joseph Smith, Bishop Lyman Wight was in Texas looking for a new home for the people known as Mormons. .President Brigham Young . lead the group, he sought to form a new colony in California Territory called Deseret. On reaching Kanesville (Council Bluff), Bishop George Miller took a wagon train south to unite with Wight. APOSTATE is a story of hardships and deprivation. George Miller's group took off for Texas in the middle of the winter. Lycia Smith (fictitious) had recently lost her husband, Joseph Smith, and their son. The young lady headed for Texas to live in the Lyman Wight colony. Those called Mormons were a hardy people who traveled wilderness trails in hope they would find a place where they could practice their religion in peace. Those who came to Texas to found a new colony faced all the dangers of early travelers coming through Indian country. Snow on the ground only made their journey more difficult