In 1565, on the wild edge of an unknown continent, Spain claimed a fragile foothold in La Florida. What followed was not glory — but hunger, fever, hardship, and the uncertain meeting of worlds. San Agustín tells the quiet, human story behind America’s oldest settlement — not of kings and admirals, but of the men and women who stayed when others fled. Carlos López, a humble hidalgo and newly appointed alférez, arrives months after the guns have fallen silent. He finds no gold, no triumph — only a crude palisade, empty storehouses, wary Timucua eyes in the trees, and a land that decides daily who may remain. Here, survival is earned a breath at a time. Alongside a stern captain fighting the fever, a priest who prays with earth under his nails, and a young Timucua girl who understands more than she speaks, Carlos learns what empire never teaches: that strength is quiet, dignity is chosen, and the land keeps score of every life it touches. Through hunger seasons, storms, and the thin line between fear and respect, San Agustín reveals the true beginning of European America — not as conquest, but as endurance. A novel of soil, struggle, and the souls who refused to turn back, San Agustín honors the forgotten truth of settlement: Some came seeking empire. Some found only themselves.