Set in the mid-19th Century in the Congress Kingdom which is now central Poland, HERITAGE, VOLUME 1: THE FLAME OF FREEDOM follows the members of the Marjzendiak family through the tumultuous years of Eastern Europe's domination by Russia. The family, headed by their father Ephraim, struggles to live an exemplary Jewish life in a time when Jews were granted few rights and essentially no social status, victims of the restrictive rules, forced conscription and dire Russification policies of Alexander II. The essential message of the story is embodied in the friendship and loyalty that exists between the Marjzendiak family and the Polish Catholic Pietrowski family, and through their interactions Poland's history is reflected, her struggle to regain her place as a nation even as the Jews of Eastern and Western Europe strive to reestablish a viable Jewish homeland. THE FLAME OF FREEDOM is the first of four volumes of HERITAGE, which all together cover six generations of this remarkable family, spanning the time frame from 1861 to 1986.