The novel brings to life the early 19th century in Dawn Township (Lambton County) in the fledgling province of Upper Canada. War with the newly-minted Americans turns bloody, and the McRorie family – sons Cal and Ti Luc and adopted daughter, Trill – who are farming hardscrabble in the newly cleared bush, are swept up in its turbulence. When Cal disappear after the battle of Frenchtown (below Lake Erie), Ti Luc and Trill go searching for him. And finding him missing, they head home through dense bushland, and across the frozen lake in a harrowing winter storm -with surprising personal consequences. A story of survival and quiet triumph.