Eleanor Bader – Library Journal: Gunning reprises many of the characters from her 2006 novel, The Widow's War, in this suspenseful and engaging look at the New England colonies in the decades immediately preceding the American Revolution. Richly detailed and impeccably researched, the novel focuses on the life of Alice Cole, beginning with her arrival in Massachusetts as a seven-year-old child. In short order, Alice's father indentures her, forcing the girl to spend 11 years working to pay off a family debt. While her first taskmaster is kind, teaching her to read, write, and calculate, the second is not. A rape occurs, and Alice flees to Cape Cod, where she finds refuge and employment with a widow and her on-again/off-again boarder. Life, however, is far from simple, and the ensuing drama forces the now-adolescent Alice to grapple with what it means to pursue personal freedom. What's more, as she struggles to integrate past and present, the era's sexual politics and religious and political fervor come alive. The result is moving, compelling, and beautifully wrought; highly recommended for historical fiction collections.