The Gardener's Tale

Freedom -- that's the last thing on the mind of young Tom Westerly, a gardener on a vast English estate who has been taught "Them as sticks their heads out gets 'em lopped off." When an impulsive act of bravery brings betrayal by his master's daughter, Tom escapes the gallows by fleeing to the newly created United States of America as an indentured servant. Cut off from his native land and inspired by the recent War for Independence, Tom is no longer satisfied living under the thumb of his so-called superiors, setting his sights on the newly opened Ohio country, where a man can live life on his own terms. However Tom's effort is complicated by a high-spirited American girl whose offer of love threatens to tie him down forever. This historical novel with romantic elements compares to books by Anya Seton, Katherine Webb, Jeannine Arkins, and Kate Alcott.