wilderness, to lay the bold foundation for their dreams. But now, just as a radiant future beckons, they are menaced by distant powers hungry to seize what they have so bitterly won. As the new generation comes into its own, some, like Lucy Van Buren, live drugged by lavish splendor. Others, like Michael Dean, carry on the invincible pioneer spirit. And still the newcomers arrive, burning with unbridled passions and dark desires. Men like Robert Willoughby, fleeing disgrace, headed for disaster … women like Alice Fairweather, willing to risk everything for a cause. Together, as lovers and enemies, they must battle to forge the glorious destiny that is rightfully theirs. Once outcasts, they are now The Colonists.