An herbalist and free woman of color, Kindred Twain and Lelaheo/Cassian Harkness, an Oneida Indian, had been inseparable since childhood, so it was no surprise to anyone when their childhood bond blossomed into love as they grew into adulthood. Neither suspected when they agreed to wait to wed until Lelaheo had completed his medical studies in Europe that they were poised on the eve of the American Revolution, or that a young British miss named Adeline would threaten to tear them apart forever.