New York Times bestselling author Kathleen O’Neal Gear writes with poignancy and realism tales of the past that are both immensely entertaining and surprisingly educational.

Lovely Andiora is a Huron Indian in seventeenth-century North America. A seeress with an unbreakable bond to the spirit world, she has foreseen a frightening vision of a blond man in a black robe, whose coming will bring misery, despair, and death to her people. Father Marc Dupre is a French missionary who has arrived in Quebec to bring the word of Christ. He is ill-equipped to deal with the growing love he feels for Andiora, an attraction which is mutual.

But a threat far more grave than a forbidden union looms. A mysterious epidemic is devastating the Hurons, and vengeful shamans blame the “Black Robes” from Europe, demanding the priests’ deaths to end the plague. Menaced by war and disease, torn between their desires and their sacred callings, Marc and Andiora struggle to find peace and fulfilment in a world seemingly gone mad.

“Absorbing… Harsh, powerful descriptions of 17th-century Quebec...horrific ordeals. Breathes life into daily events at the Huron village.” —Publishers Weekly