They fell in love while living with the Bannock people in the vast wilderness of the Pacific Northwest territory of the New World in the winter of 1799 and after a year of hard travelling, Madeleine and Ryder Benedict finally arrive in England. But England is on the brink of war with France. And Madeleine and Ryder soon realize they face a war of their own as they endure the hatred and bitterness of the Benedict family.