Anna Setterlund is a young child when her family joins a lasare (readers) group, defying the state church by conducting religious services in private homes. This new style of worship gives Anna a clear understanding of the scriptures as well as an acceptance of Sweden's cultural fascination with ancient folk beliefs. The ability to separate the two would serve her well in future years. When tragedy strikes, Anna's father decides to follow other Swedish emigrants to Minnesota, where freedom and opportunity await them. Settling into a new way of life in a small rural community, Anna's faith continues to grow and she finds a new passion for teaching. The two are combined when she becomes a missionary with the Scandinavian Alliance Mission. Her mission takes her from the western frontiers of America to the people of Japan, always challenging social injustice and religious prejudice with unwavering faith and simple acts of kindness. This chronicle of a missionary's life, set against a stunning historical backdrop, is made more poignant by the fact that Anna is the author's grandmother.