"How far will she follow her dreams? Ohio farm country, 1897. Louisa, the spirited eldest daughter of Herzig and Clara Steinbacher, has her whole life ahead of her. She is seventeen, and dreams of the "outside world" beyond her doorstep. But when Clara dies in childbirth, Louisa is suddenly thrust into adulthood--with the burden of her mother's responsibilities...and the care of her younger siblings. The only world she has ever known closes around...