"It is the sixteenth century, the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Inés Suárez, born into a poor family in Spain, works as a seamstress. When her husband disappears to the New World, Inés is happy to to flee her stifling homeland, and search for him. Her journey takes her to Peru, and she learns that her husband has died in battle. However, she begins a love affair with Pedro de Valdiva, field marshal to conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Valdivia's dream is to conquer Chile. Together, Inés and her lover will build a new city of Santiago, and will wage a bloody, ruthless war against the indigenous Chileans. The horrific struggle will change them forever, pulling each of them toward their own separate destinies. "--Jacket.