In 1846 devout Protestant Rachel Tyler, arrives in California just in time for her father's wedding and the unfolding of the Bear Flag Revolt. Though already engaged to marry a minister in Massachusetts, Rachel's ambitious father arranges her betrothal to Roman Vasquez, a blue-blooded Catholic son of the gente de raz©?n, the ruling class of California. Neither Rachel nor Roman desire this unlikely engagement that assaults their religious beliefs, but they cannot escape the passion flaming between them as war looms on the horizon and bitter rivals rise up to destroy them.