Three thrilling journeys told in vivid detail by men who risked their lives to open up the North, in the days before the North was a part of Canada.

In his search for Sir John Franklin’s men, James Anderson travelled 600 miles down 84 sets of rapids in the treacherous Great Fish River on his way to the Arctic Sea.

Wrestling rapids in birchbark canoes waterproofed with tree resin and bear fat, Robert Campbell fought his way up BC’s tumultuous Liard River, and ventured across the mountains to the unknown Yukon.

Pompous, dislikeable Augustus Peers watched as each of his men carried 168-pound packs of trade goods into regions where all the rivers flowed Northward. He wrote about his experiences and his long-lost manuscript, unearthed by the author, reveals his evocative and expressive writing.

Nancy Marguerite Anderson expertly weaves the journals of these three remarkable Hudson’s Bay Company men into a gripping and powerful tale of daring and dangerous explorations.