In mid-April, 1687, Katherine “Kit” Tyler nears the end of her voyage aboard the Dolphin brigantine from her birthplace in Barbados to her first visit to North America. Kit’s initial excitement wavers as the shoreline comes into view at the dreary port of Saybrook, Connecticut. She accompanies the crew, who take Mistress Eaton, Nat’s mother, to shore in a longboat before proceeding on the journey’s final leg to Wethersfield, where Kit’s family lives.