Molly McGarvie has two sons and a baby on the way when her beloved husband, Samuel, dies of cholera.  Just when she thinks that at least she has the money from her share in the brickyard, her brother-in-law Brody takes that as well, leaving her with the sole option of going to live with her brother in Illinois.  But on the journey there tragedy strikes again, and somehow Molly must keep her family together, find a home that is truly theirs, and even discourage some unwanted suitors.

Despite the hand that has been dealt her, Molly remains a plucky and resourceful woman whose faith remains unshaken.  The 1830s setting makes for a pleasant change from the more usual "wild west" era and there is the added interest from the Underground Railroad.  This is a fairly slim volume, but after I had finished it I felt that I had read a much longer book as there is plenty in it to entertain, inspire and chew over.  I cannot imagine what is going to happen next either, which is another point in its favor, as is the realistic, warts-and-all depiction of the time and place.