"It is 1805 and Mary Lambert has always felt safe among the deaf community of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard where practically everyone communicates in a shared sign language, but recent events have shattered her life; her brother George has died, land disputes between English settlers and the Wampanoag people are becoming increasingly bitter, and a 'scientist' determined to discover the origins of the islands' widespread deafness has decided she makes the perfect 'live specimen'--and kidnapped her"--OCLC.