A Land of Sheltered Promise

Book excerpt: Follow three women from three eras in the Pacific Northwest as they discover a place where miracles really happen—based on true stories. 1901: Plagued by loneliness on the Big Muddy Ranch, a sheepherder’s wife awaits the outcome of her husband’s trial for murder. He is sentenced to life in prison—and she to life without him. But a startling event could redeem their pasts and transform their future. 1984: Against a backdrop of attempted murder, federal indictments, and the first case of bio-terrorism in the U.S., one woman seeks to rescue her granddaughter from within the elaborate compound of a cult that has claimed the land. 1997: On the much-reviled, abandoned cult site, one woman’s skepticism turns to hope when she finds that what was meant to destroy can be used to rebuild—and in the process realizes a long-held dream. For three women seekers united across time, a remote and rugged stretch of land in the Pacific Northwest proves to be a place where miracles really happen—and the gifts of faith, hope, and charity are as tangible as rocks, rivers, and earth.