In the summer of 1856, three companies of handcarts were outfitted and sent west from Iowa to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. All went well, and they arrived without undue incident. But two additional companies—one captained by James G. Willie, and the other by Edward Martin—left England late in the season. When they arrived at Iowa City, they were long past the time for safe departure across the plains. By the time they left Florence,

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Casey Harrison guided his mare over the bridge and halted for a moment as the Barrington home came into view. Something imperceptibly warm tingled in his chest. He knew the feeling well, he'd felt it when he'd come out of the waters of baptism, and it had come again when he'd arrived in Iowa City, where the Saints were gathering in preparation to move west. But nothing could prepare Casey for the emotional and spiritual storms that lie ahead as he...