In the spring of 1919 on British Columbia's Skeena River, a strike idles the cannery lines—and death rides the tide in the wake of influenza. Ailsa Penhaligon, a beekeeper-chemist raised on the docks, can buy the sick a few precious hours with a lantern ward of ash, honey, and breath. To ferry forbidden medicine past company patrols, she forges a "convenient" engagement with strike leader Theo Sorsa, a quiet boatwright who reads tides like blueprints.

What begins as a ruse turns into a partnership built at thresholds: doorjambs and dock edges, picket lines and parish steps. As the town fights for wages, housing, and dignity—and as the river keeps its own counsel—Ailsa and Theo must decide what truth their vow can carry when the peace arrives and the watching begins.

Historical fiction, labor & class, romantic suspense.