Kaiuolani - I. William Adams

Honolulu, 1893. Queen Liliuokalani rules a Hawaii poised between two worlds-the old island ways and the hungry ambitions of foreign planters, merchants, and adventurers who call themselves Progressionists. When the queen attempts to reclaim ancient royal privilege, a ruthless cabal begins plotting her overthrow, and with it the annexation of her kingdom to the United States.

At the center of the storm stands a young Hawaiian princess, courted on one side by a decent American of conviction and on the other by scheming men who see her only as a pawn. Around them move riflemen, rival cabinets, a dangerous adventuress working her own intrigues, and envoys dispatched from the White House itself.

What begins as a garden party ends in gunfire on a plantation wall-and before the last shot is fired, a princess must decide whether a crown is an inheritance, a burden, or a voice she claims for herself.