Several current and past members of The Writer’s Block writer’s group began writing a book about a young married couple heading west to a new home upon new and strange land. The project took several years and 18 chapters to complete.

On April 15, 1847, the day of her 16th birthday, dark-haired Emma Smith and 17-year-old, tall, lanky, blond Daniel Watson are married. They have been sweethearts since first grade.
They share dreams of moving to lush farmlands out west (Oregon), so immediately following the wedding ceremony in the Smith’s farmhouse parlor, the excited young couple pack their belongings and wedding gifts in a wagon pulled by oxen, and head west.
At St. Louis, Missouri, they join Ian MacGregor’s wagon train. There they meet two Irish brothers, Michael and Liam Sullivan.
At Independence, Missouri, a military guard of 15 soldiers joins the train to guide and protect the travelers during the dangerous journey ahead. After setting off, the young couple takes care of 7-year-old Billy, left alone with a wagon after his parents die on the trail.
The journey is a perilous one. One night, a rattlesnake gets into a woman’s wagon and bites her. She barely survives.
There are happy moments too, as when Liam calls the children together around the fire and tells them Irish folk stories.
Pregnant, ill from a change of a diet, and jealous when Daniel shows an interest in a flirtatious single girl, Emma finds the trip becoming harder for the couple.
On their way to Oregon, two German and Creek Indian sisters befriend Billy. They give Billy a spirit name: Running Fox.
As the emigrants travel west, Liam Sullivan tells Emma the soldiers are looking for a deserter wanted for murder. Adding to her anxiety, the travelers have their first encounter with Indians — Pawnee. The Indians demand tribute from the wagon train for loss of grazing eaten by the cattle and mules passing by. Most of the men refuse, but Daniel insists on paying what the Indians ask. He and the wagon scout go against the common consent and pay the fine.
The soldiers leave the wagon train and head back to their fort. The California emigrants need to get over the Sierra Mountains by October 1 before snowfall, so the train rumbles on, making good time.
One evening, the young, flirtatious and single Annie Jane asks Daniel to check out a problem with her wagon. Miffed, Emma climbs into bed alone and is grabbed by the army deserter. Scared, hungry and wounded, when he slumps to the floor unconscious, Emma goes for help.
The deserter is held prisoner by the travelers and his wounds treated. When he is well enough, he tells his story. “I am Howard Gibbons. I deserted after I killed the soldier who raped and murdered my sister Cora. He stabbed me first, but I left his own knife stuck in his belly and I am not sorry.”
A council is held around the campfire where the travelers vote not to return Howard to face military justice.
On the trail, Daniel spends less time with Emma and more time with rugged wagon scout, Flint. During Daniel’s absence, Liam Sullivan spends more time with Emma. Then one day after her morning bath, Emma is discovered missing. Also missing are Howard Gibbons and Liam.
Liam is found gagged and bound to a tree. When Daniel is told that a deranged Gibbons has kidnapped Emma, a search party is formed to track down Gibbons and rescue Emma.