Zoe-Esther, a motherless jewish girl of nine, leaves Russia with her silversmith father to seek refuge in Amerika (sic).  Zoe-Esther is one of three women to graduate from medical school in 1867.  Upon graduation, Zoe-Esther (or Star, as her father calls her) moves her tuberculosis-stricken father to Golden City in the Colorado Territory, seeking to save his life.  On the frontier, away from her father's choice of husband, fellow graduate Daniel Stein, Zoe-Esther must struggle to survive in a foreign land, in the face of prejudice against Jews, immigrants, and female doctors.  Possible love interest Jake Whiskey is the exact opposite of her father's choice of a husband for the heroine--a gambler, a drinker, a non-Jew.  It takes a cholera outbreak for the town to accept Zoe-Esther as its doctor.  Then Daniel Stein arrives in town.

Sundell writes of blossoming romance, strength in the face of adversity, and a young woman's love for and devotion to her father.  Appropriate for historical romance collections at the young adult and adult levels. this novel will most be appreciated by those torn between tradition and true love.