Fifteen-year-old Jamelle Bonet is the daughter of a wealthy, French-born wine merchant living in England in 1619. When her father is executed for treason and stripped of his possessions, she must flee the country manor of her childhood and leave behind the trappings of her privileged upbringing. With the aid of handsome Brent Foster, the penniless nephew of Lord Phillip Wagram, Jamelle resists an attempted seduction. Her attacker is unexpectedly killed, throwing the lives of both Jamelle and Brent into chaos. Brent flees to Virginia while Jamelle struggles in London's seamy underworld. When a sum left secretly by her father comes into her hands, she too sails for Virginia, ignoring qualms about Brent Foster as well as rumors about the hardships of Colony life. Her adventurous spirit is tested to the limit, and she must use every bit of strength and daring she possesses to hold onto the life she's come to love.