The first half of the 17th century brought war to Europe like never before. The struggle between Protestant and Catholic pitted nations, armies, cities, and neighboring villages against one another. Young Piotr Nowak's family is caught up in the maelstrom of violence, and he is forced to flee his home. Penniless and alone, he finds passage on a ship bound for the New World. Jana Mueller loses her father to the soldiers quartering in her village. Sent away from the violence to Ireland, she starts her training as a nun and is assigned to a ship leaving for Quebec City. When the two ships leave port, a journey is initiated that will take them into the unknown landscape of forest and rivers, and weave the lives of the travelers together with the land and the people in it. Each of them will have to learn to survive, thrive, and fight for a chance to find their place in the world.