Philip Ollenshaw was the eldest son of Sir John Ollenshaw and heir to the Manor of Marshalsea.  There his advantages ended, for Philip was a cripple – shy, sensitive, nervous – and he aroused only contempt and hatred in his libertine father. But he had courage and vision; he saw and understood the hardships of the local villagers and the limitations of Puritan bigotry. Life in England was not easy after the Restoration of Charles II for those who wished to steer a moderate course; and when he fell in love with Linda Seabrook, he renounced his inheritance and joined a band of colonists bound for America, committing himself to a life of hardship and endeavour, to carve out a future from the wilderness – surviving Indian raids and the harshness of Puritan rule –  and his strength was the abiding force of the community…