In 1661, Lucas Turner, a barber surgeon, and his sister, Sally, an apothecary, stagger off a small wooden ship after eleven weeks at sea. Bound to each other by blood and necessity, they aim to make a fresh start in the rough and rowdy Dutch settlement of Nieuw Amsterdam; soon lust, betrayal, and murder will make them mortal enemies. In their struggle to survive in the New World, Lucas and Sally make choices that will burden their descendants with a legacy of secrets and retribution, and create a heritage that sets cousin against cousin, physician against surgeon, and, ultimately, patriot against Tory. In what will be the greatest city in the New World, the fortunes of these two families are inextricably entwined by blood and fire in an unforgettable American saga of pride and ambition, love and hate, and the becoming of the dream that is New York City.

貝弗利•斯沃林，美國最具人氣的曆史小說傢，對文字的敏感近乎極緻。她的文字大氣而不失細膩，她所設計的情節麯摺而不矯揉，她所塑造的人物韆奇而不陌生，她筆下的故事永遠讓人愛不釋手。

《夢想之城》是斯沃林的處女作，這是一部極具野心的曆史小說，《洛杉磯時報》稱譽《夢想之城》：“這個故事近乎完美，堪稱紐約版《百年孤獨》。”