1869.  As the gold fever swept the nation, a great migration north begins to the Yukon Territory of Canada, where the adventurous Frank Blake chases his dreams of fortune aboard a rickety steamer headed for the unchartered waters of the Klondike--pursued by a dangerous enemy bent on deadly vengeance.  Across the continent, on New York's teeming shores, daring trailblazer Dr. Jasnessa Holt Lawrence scandalizes eastern society with her radical discoveries and impassioned struggle for women's right.  And amid the dazzle and deception of Washigton's glittering social whirl, Toby Holt fights a desperate battle with President McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt to prevent a war that could alter the fate of a nation.