At just six years old, it becomes clear that China Creed's birthright, passed down from her mother's side of the family, is the power to grant wishes with only a touch. In their small Ozark town, where superstition runs rampant, the only person who can be trusted with her secret is the Cherokee midwife and healer who makes China her apprentice.

After the tumult of the Civil War, a new doctor arrives in town who is curious about the lovely young woman who can birth babies and banish hexes. As his interest in her deepens and China's life is torn apart by her mother's death and accusations of witchcraft, she will have to decide if her secret--and her heart--are finally safe in his hands.

In this epic nineteenth-century tale of alienation and avarice, survival and sacrifice, China will travel from the backwoods of Missouri to the mansions of Manhattan, as she searches for a future where she is finally free to trust, to love, and to touch . . .

Praise for the writing of Sue Harrison

"Mythic storytelling." --The Washington PostBook World on Mother Earth, Father Sky

"Under Harrison's hand, ancient Alaska comes beautifully alive." --The Denver Post on Cry of the Wind

"Harrison expertly frames dramatic events with depictions of prehistoric life in the Aleutian Islands." --The New York Times Book Review on Mother Earth, Father Sky

"Harrison once again displays her first-rate storytelling talents . . . A warm yarn from the frozen North and as authentic as all get-out." --Kirkus Reviews on Song of the River