Cheney Duvall has proved herself a true doctor to those two hundred brides with whom she traveled to the West by sea. But a string of medical successes during the voyage does not open any doors for her upon her arrival in Seattle. In this frontier town, she's "jest a woman." Dejected, she returns home to Philadelphia. When she receives a letter with an invitation to a remote spot in the Ozark Mountains where there are no doctors at all, Cheney feels compelled to go. But the local people are less than welcoming. Cheney runs into walls of illiteracy, superstition, and immovable distrust of Yankees--especially an "edjicated female [who] thinks she's a real doc." How will she overcome centuries of hate and mistrust?-- Back cover.