Portland, England; 1750. Jack Easton, a stonemason and reluctant smuggler, stumbles into a vicious assassination plot and becomes the scapegoat for two brutal murders. Narrowly avoiding the gallows, he is transported as a convict to the British American colony of Maryland where he is exiled for life. Suffering terrible hardship and heart-rending loss, he eventually finds new love; and his remarkable gift for stone carving helps him to begin a new life. But news of an unexpected tragedy at home sets him off on a desperate race across the Atlantic to clear his family name - and exact revenge upon the corrupt customs officer who framed him. Facing the perils of a northern ocean crossing in winter and the unexpected hazards that lie in wait for him, he must forge some uncommon alliances to come within range of his target - while staying on the right side of the law¿