Esthers Gold

Esthers Gold is a non-traditional western told from a young woman's point of view. The story begins on the outskirts of Boston in 1845. Esther grows up working in a hotel with her widowed mother. She longs for a home of her own and freedom from the hard work in the hotel. She falls in love with a young man who wants to go to California to find gold. She travels west on horseback with her husband and her husband's friend. They are forty-niners who expect to go to California where they will all become rich. Esther announces that God will be with them as they leave, but she learns that traveling west was more difficult than she imagined.

Esther left her mother behind in Boston, yet she feels her presence as they encounter tough times while traveling. The travelers come upon an unusual situation that changes the plans for their lives.