content: It's not easy to find this book anymore - I got it at my library but had to special-order it from another branch. The series has two different numbering systems - one by order written, one by order of events. In the order of events, this is the 2nd in events, following The Building of Jalna. I wasn't crazy about the opening, but the story really picked up after that and is a delightful mix of humor and drama. If you like family sagas, then you'll enjoy the Whiteoaks series. I especially enjoyed the children in the story (Ernest's 'my eye' comments really become comical). I plan to read the whole series.