After three years at the Lowell mills, sixteen-year-old Emeline McCullough can stand the grueling work no more. But in 1865, a young woman on her own has few choices. So when Asa Mercer presents his plan to resettle orphan daughters and widows of Union soldiers in Seattle, Washington, Emeline is one of the first to sign up. Being one of the Mercer Girls is not exactly what Emeline expected--nor is Asa Mercer the honest gentleman he appeared to be. The journey all the way around the tip of South America is far more perilous than Emeline imagined, and her closest companion is certain that someone on the ship is trying to murder her. Despite all this, the voyage of the Continental proves to be the adventure of a lifetime, filled with mystery, excitement, friendship, romance, and untold beauty. Katherine Kirpatrick`s compelling historical novel, written in the form of a diary, pays homage to the real Mercer Girls who helped to found Seattle.