The Sojourners

That woman will bring shame down upon us . . .

The New World is no place for a penniless widow. Elsie MacClayne's choices are few: remain with the other Scots-Irish immigrants to become a burden on her friends or search out her cousin, Connor, who has already made Pennsylvania Colony his home. Elsie longs to make a life for herself and her unborn child, but old prejudices are still alive amongst the colonists, and she is looked upon with either pity or distrust.

What I did was inexcusable . . .

Niall Donaghue had anticipated his brother's arrival in the New World, but he hadn't expected Grahame to arrive with a new wife. Anger and jealousy drive him to make a mistake that costs him not only Grahame's trust but the chance to pursue his own hopes for the future. He is forced to set aside his ambitions for the sake of his aunt and their livelihood.

Can Elsie find the courage to withstand the threats around her and claim her place in a foreign land? Can Niall find the will to ask for the forgiveness he longs for?

The Sojourners, set in 1720s Pennsylvania, is the second book in the saga of the Donaghue family. Each book follows the next generation of the family against the backdrop of the developing New World and features historical detail, strong women and their craftiness, and a crochet pattern by designer Laurinda Reddig.