On the brink of the British-American war of 1812 Rachel Greenhow, a Quaker missionary from England, disappears in the uncharted wilderness surrounding Lake Michigan. Everyone gives her up for dead. Except her brother Mark who refuses to abandon hope and embarks on an unforgettable search across a vast landscape.
The young Canada - its fledgling cities and staggering landscapes - is brought vividly to life while Mark sets off with the 'voyageurs' - the men who canoe immense distances on the fur-trade route - to discover the truth of Rachel's final journey. As Mark struggles to maintain his religious belief in non-violence while all around him take up arms, he is further disorientated by a young women who pitches his emotions into turmoil.
