By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch

Hearing that her father is dying, Ruby Torvald takes her little sister Opal and leaves New York City for the wilds of Little Missouri in Dakota Territory. When they arrive in this pioneer town, they are shocked to discover their father is very near death and owns Dove House — a sordid bar, complete with barmaids. Before he dies, Per Torvald makes Ruby swear she will “take care of the girls” — the soiled doves in residence. Ruby finds herself suddenly faced with life on the frontier in a barely-there town.

Over the course of four books, Snelling tells the story of Ruby Torvald and Little Missouri. The author focuses on each of four women: Ruby Torvald, Pearl Hossfuss, Opal Torvald, and Amethyst O’Shaunasy. These women find themselves in circumstances often beyond their control in a time when women were not considered strong in body or emotion.

Ruby finds herself taking on the reform of Dove House while her younger sister Opal confronts societal views of women in the West. Pearl goes from riches in Chicago to a one-room schoolhouse in Little Missouri, and Amethyst comes to find her lost nephew Joel in Medora. The four women learn something about themselves and about God in this Inspirational Fiction series.