New Mexico, 1837. As New Mexico teeters on the verge of revolution, eight-year-old Alma's family experiences an upheaval of its own. Her parents, Gerald and Suzanna, have been married almost ten years. In that time, he's never told her that his grandmother was a runaway slave. When Gerald's father shows up in the valley, the truth comes out.
Stunned and furious, Suzanna leaves the family's mountain valley and takes Alma and her younger brother, Andrew, with her. Gerald allows the children to go because he believes they'll be safer with their mother than with him in the mountains. However, as Suzanna, Alma, and Andrew reach Santa Fe, revolt breaks out and the children are exposed to sights no child should ever have to experience.
This trauma and the prejudice the children experience because of their heritage makes Alma long for home. But even if her mother can forgive past secrets, the way is now blocked by wintery weather and entrenched rebels. Will Alma's family ever be reunited?
A heart-breaking yet ultimately triumphant story about secrets, prejudice, love, and the impact of adult conflict on our children.
