She's run away to become a part of history, and to fall in love. It will take everything she had to survive the first year at Plymouth Colony. Stowing away aboard the Mayflower to escape an arranged marriage, sixteen-year-old Merrie Courtland receives no welcome on the Pilgrim ship. Luke Bosworth, the dashing young sailor who finds her, believes she is nothing but a dishonest stowaway. Her sole friend is the doctor's handsome young assitant, Zachariah Gaines. Merrie must be brave and resourceful to make it through the harsh, lonely first winter at Plymouth Colony. But can she persuade the Pilgrims to accept her? Luke wants Merrie to return to England and marry him. Zachariah wants her to stay. As the colony prepares a feast of Thanksgiving, Merrie faces the hardest test of all. Does she have the courage to listen to her heart?