The more books I read in this series, the more these people grow on me. Each story builds upon the story before it and so I highly recommend reading the stories in the order they were written. It is the 1800's and life in the mountains of Colorado can be tough, but crossing over into California by wagon train can be even tougher. In this story you will follow the life of Nan and Fred's youngest children, Luke and Ruby. Luke is an adventure seeking young man, looking for his way in the world and Ruby is a young girl who thinks she is in love, and because of her impulsiveness will find herself in situations that will be life changing and threatening for her.

Luke will marry Purdy (who you will have met in "Elk's Resolve") as they figure they both want to go to California, they are both independent and good friends with each other. As the book says, "They were young and invincible and the road to California was spread at their feet." As you make this journey with them you will find heartache, sorrow and determination. But in the end you will have discovered a love between these two young people that will withstand the test of time.

I like what the author said about why she wrote this story: "When writing this book, I decided that it was important to explore the reality that not everything goes perfectly. Sometimes people are deceived and hurt by the decisions they or others make. Sometimes bad things happen to good people without a decision being made." In this story you will discover that God is our refuge in the time of sorrow. I like the way the author incorporates scripture into her story and the gospel message. It is done very well and flows with the story very nicely. (I also like any author, like Elaine Littau, who grew up reading Grace Livingston Hill stories, as she was also one of my favorite authors growing up and still is today) Now I am on to "The Eyes of a Stranger", book 4 in this series. I can't wait!! ( )