In 1890s California, a socialist commune rises on a remote island and collapses under the weight of its own ideals. Norman Worth, a wealthy young man seduced by the promise of social equality, abandons his father's conservative world to join Barbara Bozenta's passionate movement. But Colonel Worth, a steadfast patriot, sees his son's fascination with socialism as a betrayal of everything American. As Norman immerses himself in the commune's experiment, he discovers that revolutionary rhetoric collides painfully with human nature: jealousy, ambition, and greed infect the utopian dream. The novel pulses with the raw energy of a nation wrestling with its own soul at the century's turn, when industrialists and laborers, radicals and reactionaries, clashed over what America should become. Dixon, better known for "The Clansman," delivers a surprisingly nuanced portrait of idealism corrupted and the personal toll of political conviction.
