Thorn of Plimouth

When the Fortune lays anchor off the coast of Cape Cod in 1621, Rachel Haverford believes she, like her fellow passengers, will be starting life anew.

But the bleak and desolate landscape bears no resemblance to what they had been promised, and the supposed thriving community at Plimoth turns out to be nothing more than a handful of crooked houses inhabited by a people twisted by hunger, grief, and fear. The harsh winter has left its mark on the settlement, and beneath the settlers' prayers and pious words lies a growing desperation that threatens to consume them all.

Marked as a "stranger" by the devout settlers, Rachel struggles under the weight of their suspicious eyes, which follow her every move. She has brought with her little more than a few possessions and the knowledge of healing passed down to her through generations of women. But in a community where illness is viewed as divine punishment and death is blamed on hidden sin, her gift soon becomes a curse. When people around her begin to die under mysterious circumstances, whispers of witchcraft spread through Plimoth, and Rachel finds herself caught in a web of suspicion she cannot easily escape.

Yet it is not only the settlers she must fear.

Beyond the crude palisades of Plimoth lies a world the colonists barely understand-a land inhabited by peoples whose history stretches back generations before the Europeans arrived. When Rachel encounters a Pokanoket warrior, she expects hostility. Instead, she finds an unexpected ally, and eventually a man who awakens feelings she has been taught to distrust. Drawn into his world, Rachel begins to see the land and its people through eyes very different from those of the settlers. But their growing bond places them both in grave danger, for neither the colonists nor the indigenous tribes can afford to forget the wounds and betrayals that divide them.

As tensions rise between the European settlers and the indigenous peoples of New England, old alliances fracture and new ones are forged in secret. Rachel discovers that those she believed were righteous can be cruel, while those she was taught to fear may offer the greatest kindness she has ever known. With winter approaching once again and suspicion closing in around her, she must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice to protect the man she loves-and whether there is still a place for her among the people who once promised her a new beginning.

Thorn of Plimouth is a gripping tale of love, survival, faith, and betrayal set against the unforgiving landscape of early colonial New England. Rich with historical atmosphere and simmering tension, it follows one woman's fight to survive a world where belonging comes at a price and where the line between friend and enemy is blurred beyond recognition.

For Rachel, finding home may mean abandoning everything she once believed about where she belongs.