Kristine Martin

Wings of Stone Kristine Martin

Margaret Barnhill, poised to wed on the eve of revolutionary war, steps into a changing world. Gently bred in Pennsylvania Colony, now cast adrift from a close village circle, she discovers very little is quite as she supposed; not the frontier homestead waiting beyond the Allegheny Mountains nor her hasty new husband. She is determined to make the best of her chosen road. Resourceful and spirited, accompanied by memorable characters, she marks her passage with an emerging nation. Wilderness territory is opened by restless folk. Settlers continue to push boundaries, dared by the lure of unlimited land to violate successive treaties. Urged by her brother Donald to explore the virgin promise of Kentucky, Lowell Wesley decides to seek his fortune there, and a young wife once more braves the unknown. All effort seems futile when the venture proves rashly planned. Maggie Barnhill Wesley is taken by Shawnee fighting desperately to protect the baby son in her arms. That such destiny should be largely ordained by men of trust, she finds exceedingly difficult to reconcile. Fresh contrasts try her resolve. Buffeted by hardship, she struggles to endure this alien and accidental climate. A different people lead her to learn their language and wisdom, to heal and to be healed. Among them, the warrior Red Hawk recognizes her worth from the moment of their first encounter. All the while, her brother's search weaves under her own. Conflicts of bias, identity, integrity and cultural heritage test them in separate ways. A handsomely detailed historical novel, this book takes an imaginary path. It is one woman's likely story, told in parallel perspective. Convincing voices cross the years to speak of courage and human need. Life's greatest choices require leaps of faith, in any century.