Set against Nan­tuck­et’s Great Fire of 1846, this sweep­ing, emo­tion­al nov­el brings togeth­er three coura­geous women bat­tling to save every­thing they hold dear.

Nan­tuck­et in 1846 is an island set apart not just by its geog­ra­phy but by its unique cir­cum­stances. With their men­folk away at sea, often for years at a time, women here know a rare inde­pen­dence — and the chal­lenges that go with it.

Eliza Macy is strug­gling to con­ceal her finan­cial trou­ble as she waits for her whal­ing cap­tain hus­band to return from a voy­age. In des­per­a­tion, she turns against her pro­gres­sive ideals and tar­gets Meg Wright, a preg­nant free Black woman try­ing to relo­cate her store to Main Street. Mean­while, astronomer Maria Mitchell loves run­ning Nan­tuck­et’s Atheneum and spend­ing her nights observ­ing the stars, yet she fears reveal­ing the secret wish­es of her heart.

When a mas­sive fire breaks out in town, these women are forced to reeval­u­ate their pri­or­i­ties and decide what to save, what to let go and what kind of life to rebuild from the ash­es of the past.