Reverend Nathaniel Wolde is trying hard to cope with the changes that have come into his life. Though now a prosperous man, he'd never believed himself poor. All his friends told him it was progress, and he'd have to deal with it. This book deals with the many facets of his life. He is a partner in a real estate venture, and is a Aide to 6th District Congressman William Willey. He is heavily involved in the efforts to gain statehood for western Virginia. Reverend Wolde attended a session of the U.S. senate and at the urging of John Breckenridge, read the Constitution. He buys the old Morgan estate for his wife, Baroness Mary Catherine MacTavish. Marion county hosts an Independence Day gala there. Ian MacTavish comes for a month-long visit; young Riley comes home after 6 months in Scotland, and bonds with his older brother, Roy. it tells the story of David Sullivan, and how he stole his college sweetheart away from her home in New York City, to come live in the mountains of western Virginia. It tells the story about Reverend Wolde's adopted father, a Red Coat Sergeant in the Kings Army, and how he became friends with a British Admiral, and both men settled in western Virginia. Reverend Wolde becomes an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church, and his friends built him a church. The entire Wolde family, and several friends accompany Ian and Riley when they return to Scotland aboard the family's clipper ship, The Catherine Ross.