Guardian
by Joe Haldeman

Description:
Rosa Coleman has not had an easy life. Uprooted from her Southern home during the Civil War, she settled in Philadelphia; eventually she married a man of leisure, whose compassion quickly turned to cruelty. But once that cruelty was inflicted upon their only son Daniel, she picked up and fled with the boy across the uncivilized Western frontier - and into Alaska to start anew among the region's gold fields. But even the harsh journey across America has not prepared Rosa for the infinite possibilities that await her. Something not of this world has approached her. It has revealed the universe's secrets to her. And it will take her on an extraordinary odyssey as she discovers that she, Rosa Coleman, has a role to play in bringing peace to Earth. . .