In 1808, when Emma meets and marries Eric Montclaire (the famed "most handsome man west of the Appalachians"), this young daughter of prominent St. Louis citizens believes a fairy tale has just begun. Instead, her husband's angelic looks quickly prove only to mask a monstrous soul all too capable of possessive emotions and physical abuse. Praying for mercy, she is devastated when Eric insists on her joining his yearlong group expedition to the Pacific...