Publisher's Synopsis
In 1801 William Priestley, with his wife and young son, are courageously braving the dangers of traveling down the Mississippi River on a flatboat. This immigrant pioneer, the second son of the famous Joseph Priestley, is leaving an oppressive life in rural Pennsylvania in search of a better one and the freedom to choose his own destiny. The original stopping point is to be Natchez, an American territory. Little does he know that this trip instead will end on a plantation in Spanish Colonial Louisiana. Once settled he responds to the realities of plantation life with an inner determination to become successful in ways that are not a common practice to the local planters. He strives continuously to provide a good life for his family, including two future daughters.
