Odysseys of the Saints is a fictional history of the Mormons. In it, five generations of one family experience the controversial and often bloody evolution of the Latter-day Saints, from a persecuted cult to an affluent and powerful community. It is the fastest-growing Christian denomination in the world.
The characters include Ted Bailey, a young newsman sent to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846 to report on the Mormon exodus to the West. He meets George Wood, a Mormon who has left his faith over polygamy. Among the Mormons venturing west to Utah are Amelia Carter and her family. Once there, her community is embattled by the U.S. Government, and her faith is tested when her husband marries three other wives. Anders Erikson, a Norwegian convert, becomes a missionary on a tiny island near Tahiti. His son-in-law, Frank, Amelia's great-grandson, becomes an FBI agent after World War II. Frank is distraught when his son Joshua is excommunicated from the Church for being gay. [from author web site]