Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone lived in a house made of a strong Tabby foundation with a double piazza held up by great pillars and a front yard that sloped down to the water? If everyone cold hear the wind in the palmetto trees and taste the sand in their mouths when the wind blew? And what about the tides that flow toward land twice each day, then back out again?" It's 1900--the dawn of a new century--and never in her wildest dreams did fifteen-year-old Rose Frampton ever think she'd leave behind her family and home on the peaceful shores of her island plantation in South Carolina...especially not to live with a new husband in the land of Yankees.But she is doing just that. Rose's new life with her handsome and wealthy husband in Brooklyn, New York is both scary and exciting. As mistress of the large Victorian estate on Dorchester Road, she must learn to make decisions, establish her independence, and run an efficient household. These tasks are difficult enough without the added complication that she and her new husband barely know one another. As romance blossoms and Rose begins to find her place, she discovers that strength of character does not come easily but is essential for happiness.Told in diary form, Ann Rinaldi paints a sensual picture of time and place as readers are given an intimate glimpse into the heart of a child as she grows to become a woman.