In a narrative spanning the final decades of the 1800s, the end of the Hawaiian monarchy, annexation by the Unites States, and World War I, the lives of four starkly different headstrong individuals are inextricably woven.

True Lindstrom was brought to the orphanage at Waikiki as a young girl. As bold as she is fair, True harbors a tragic childhood secret—as well as a fierce love for Evan Coulter, which she will defy fate and circumstance to fulfill. Twelve years older than True, handsome Evan is an accomplished rider with an abiding love for the land and its people. His political future now seems limitless—until his passion for True jeopardizes his marriage and forces a decision that could alter Hawaiian history. Princess Kaiulani, a delicate child who traces her ancestry to Scottish landowners on her father’s side and centuries of Hawaiian royalty on her mother’s, is heiress apparent to the Hawaiian throne. The last hope of the Hawaiian monarchy, she is all too aware of the enormous responsibility places on her frail shoulders and understands that she will either grow up to rule the islands—or die a martyr to them.

These dynamic lives are woven into a tale by Martha Moon, the gentle teacher who casts herself in the ancient Hawaiian role of storyteller. It is through her eyes that we witness four lifetimes of adversity, sorrow, joy, and ultimate triumph.