Tells the stories of six women who traveled to Oregon Territory as missionary wives in the 1830s. One of the women, Narcissa Whitman, was killed in the Whitman Massacre of 1847. The others were Eliza Spalding, Mary Richardson Walker, Myra Fairbanks Eells, Sarah White Smith and Mary Dix Gray. Describes establishment of missions at Tshimakian and Waiilaptu.