The Crown of Castile is advancing unstoppably in its conquest of the New World. Carlos V wants to spread Christianity to the furthest corners of the empire and halt the mixing of races among the Spanish ranks. And so the Council of the Indies sends history’s first caravan of women to the Americas, eighty maidens hand-picked from among the best noble families who have seen their wealth dwindle after the crisis that, at the height of the sixteenth century, is gripping the kingdom. El corazón del océano is an exciting novel filled with adventure, conspiracies, bravery and passion.