Vast, wild, and beautiful, Australia beckoned those brave enough to dream ...

Among those courageous souls was Hallie Thomas. Born into poverty in the dark, hopeless world of Newcastle coal-mining in 19th century England, Hallie dared to want more in a time and place where women were defined only by their husbands.

She saw her chance when charismatic Chadwick Morgan, the maverick son of the coal company's owner, asked Hallie to come to Australia to marry him, and to build a dynasty in an unspoiled new world. But on that ship that took her to her husband, Hallie met Dr. Tristan Faulkner, a handsome, sensitive man who saved her life and loved her -- despite the fact that Hallie was promised to another.

And the life Hallie had chosen left no time for thoughts of lost love. For soon after she married Chad he was called back to England -- leaving his young wife to deal with a sheep farm of thousands of acres, with the convicts who worked it, and with their shared vision of expanding their estate. Determined to succeed, Hallie carved more land from the wilderness of New South Wales, organized the laborers, ministered to the other families in the region ... and found Tristan Faulkner had come back into her life ...

THE MOON BELOW is a magnificent tale of selfless courage in an exotic land of purple mountains and silvery eucalyptus, of ancient aboriginal culture and varied wildlife, and of one woman's quest for independence and purpose -- and the price her heart is forced to pay.