Sheila Kohler writes an engaging novel of the life a French aristocrat, Henriette Lucy Dillon, who is of Irish origin. Lucy is passionate, courageous, beautiful, witty. She survives the "terror" that sweeps France in the wake of the French Revolution. Lucy & her husband, Frederic, escape France with their two small children; crossing the rough Atlantic ocean in a small boat for Boston. When they arrive Lucy immediately wastes no time in making a farm life for her family; a great contrast from their life in France. Lucy meets challenges & adventure, being energized by freedom they have found in America. A compelling and fascinating read.