"Ellen Lark is on the verge of marriage when she and her fiancé receive an unexpected visit from Alexander Graham Bell. Ellen is deaf and for a time she was Bell's student learning visible speech. During their lessons, Bell also confided in her about his dream of producing a device that would transmit the human voice along a wire: the telephone. Now, on the cusp of wealth and renown, Bell wants Ellen to speak up in support of his claim to the patent...

"'Ruth Bass is SO GOOD at this! In her captivating prequel to Sarah's Daughter she returns us to an earlier time of (mostly) benevolent country folk, furnished with barns, square dances, quilting needles, and dinners of beans and biscuits, capturing the joys and sorrows, the struggles and hopes of the past with absolute authenticity and freshness. (-Judith Viorst, best-selling author).'"--Page 4 of cover.