We meet up with our hero Ethan Gage in Napoleon's France‚ where he maneuvers a romantic liason with the Emperor's nymphomaniac married sister‚ narrowly escapes a plot on his life amidst a celebratory fireworks display‚ and encounters a grizzled Norwegian named Magus Bloodhammer. Magus shows Ethan an ancient map he has discovered. The map indicates that a mysterious artifact known as Thor's Hammer was last known to be in a medieval Norse settlement in North America. The hammer is said to control the weather and lightning by unknown principals.
Wishing to escape his would-be assassins‚ Ethan agrees to join Magnus in his quest. The two journey to America‚ meeting with the newly elected President Jefferson in a nascent D.C. of bogs and stumps. In a nod to future endeavors (Lewis and Clark)‚ Jefferson funds their travels in exchange for a report on their findings‚ saying their request coincides with the sighting of blonde-haired‚ blue-eyed Indians up along the Missouri. The two set off for Indian fur trapping country‚ where Gage will live as an Indian‚ face a hostile tribesman named Redjacket (so called for his British coat) as well as one Lady Aurora Somerset‚ a furiously bitter former love interest- all while questing after the magical Thor's Hammer. Incorporating real history with high adventure‚ Dietrich's newest tale is sure to delight readers of NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS and THE ROSETTA KEY.
