"This is the story of John Bliss and the people who joined him in his hunt for heaven; of the fortunes of the colony they founded; and particularly of his lovely daughter Rebecca. Tall and slender, with level gray eyes and a stately grace, Rebecca hid a rebellious heart beneath her sweet and prim exterior. She was an unfailing support to her adored father; yet when Dan Braden came to the farm, her eyes were opened to a different kind of love.
"Many were attracted to Pastor Bliss' community: visionaries, hopefuls, doubtfuls, and just plain loafers. Among them were a labor leader looking for a better life, and a wandering peddler who put down his pack and stayed; four maiden ladies who brought their life's savings and their talent for painting china; and a delegation from the poorhouse who brought only their appetites. But handsome Dan Braden came for another reason. He was sent to spy upon the community, to destory it; he ended by respecting it, by helping to save it from the vicious attacks of its enemies. Yet in spite of his admiration for Pastor Bliss and his love for Rebecca, he could not stay in utopia when the world needed him.
"Mrs. Barber has recaptured the idealistic fervor of such famous nineteenth-century communities as New Harmony and Fruitlands. She has brought to life the varied human beings who formed them, the pleasures of community life, the humorous incidents side by side with the struggle against ridicule, poverty, and disaster. And she has revealed, through the adventures of the farm and through the conflict in Rebecca's heart between father and lover, the reasons why none of these colonies achieved its aim."
