Jack MacLaren and his partner, Charlie Longbough set out from the Rocky Mountains, bound for New Orleans, with a season’s worth of beaver pelts and the high expectations of the wealth they will bring. But unbeknownst to them, a war is brewing with England, and the British have blockaded the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River, halting all commerce in or out of the river. Jack and Charlie’s furs are nearly worthless, and their visions of wealth evaporate. Broke and discouraged, they head north for St. Louis, hoping to join up with a fur company bound for the far western mountains. But dangerous ruthless men, and one of the most catadysmic events of the century conspire against them and death hunts them at every turn.