In 1845 Upper Canada the spark ignites between Tehawennihárhos of the Mohawk Turtle clan and the young Scotswoman Jennet Ferguson, kindling a fire that drives this truly Canadian novel across an epic adventure of adversity and romance. Set against a backdrop of the European land grab of Six Nations territory, this story casts a broad shadow over the landscape of cultures and identity that was coming to define the emerging nation of Canada. But for Squire Tehawennihárhos Davis the chaos turns personal. Depressing events in Indiana and Canboro threaten to spiral out of control. At Ruthven Hall (David Thompson's Greek revival mansion), Squire finds the mill owners conspiring to fix the GRNC's shipping toll rate. A fight breaks out and rages on until Bart Farr spots the ghost of Ziggy the slave snatcher wandering the corridors of Ruthven. In Canboro, Margaret Magdalene Walker has trouble with her pregnancy. She believes she is in mortal danger. Skullduggery is afoot. Eileen Dover, a surveyor's assistant, has been found dead at Farr's Tavern and Stagestop; the victim's head has been neatly severed from her shoulders.