It is the spring of 1865, and the end of the Civil War is near. As the nation is struggling to come to peace with itself, all Vanessa Clemens can think about is her birthday. She has been dreading it for weeks, for the day she turns fourteen she must leave the orphanage that has been her home for a decade. The headmaster has made arrangements for Nessa. Either she can become a servant or marry the pastor, an older dreary man. Those are her only options. Then, on her birthday morning, Nessa hears cries flooding the sleepy Missouri town: President Lincoln has been assassinated. This national tragedy spurs her to flee on the first stagecoach heading West, determined not to be a servant or unloved wife.

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