"Allende has created a masterpiece of historical fiction that is
passionate, adventurous, and brilliantly insightful. . . . suspenseful
and surprising."--Denver Post
From the revered New York Times bestselling author of The House of
the Spirits and A Long Petal of the Sea comes a passionate tale of
one young woman's quest to save her lover, set against the chaos, greed,
and promise of the 1849 California Gold Rush.
Raised in the British colony of Valparaíso, Chile, English orphan Eliza
Sommers meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquín
Andieta, a lowly clerk with ambitious dreams. When gold is discovered in
the hills of northern California. Chileans, including Joaquín, head
north to seek their fortune. Eliza, pregnant with Joaquín's child,
leaves behind everything she knows to follow her lover.
In the rough-and-tumble world of San Francisco, Eliza must navigate a
society dominated by greedy men. But with the help of her natural spirit
and a good friend, Chinese doctor Tao Chi'en, Eliza soon comes to
discover that her search for love has become a quest of personal
freedom.