This historical novel begins with the adventures of teenage brothers Adam and Henry Baird, as well as Adam's future wife, Catherine Malcolm. The three young Scots venture separately, and overcome great peril traveling to America in the 1860s, leaving forever the Baird's large, close-knit family in Scotland.
All the Baird siblings are influenced by folklore and encounters with spiritually advanced magical fairy creatures on their Scottish ranch, Drumdruils. Adam and Henry both become entrenched in scandal. Adam, entangled in a romantic relationship with his spinster teacher, boards a steamer ship for America.
When Henry Baird's girlfriend dies in childbirth, he joins Adam as a carpenter in the Caledonian mines in Nevada, leaving behind his daughter. Their childhood friend, Catherine Malcolm, travels on the SS Alabama steamer to wed Adam. Her ship hits an iceberg. The captain saves the ship and proposes marriage to Catherine in Newfoundland.
Catherine weds Adam in Virginia City, and befriends the downtrodden Paiute Indians. Adam almost dies in the mines. The three Scots become embroiled in Indian unrest, murders, and an explosion/fire downtown. Henry eventually becomes a rancher in California and marries. His wife Sarah dies after the birth of their daughter Katherine, who was the author's grandmother.
Says the author; "I possess autobiographies of my Scottish paternal great-grandparents, Adam Baird and Catherine Malcolm Baird, recounting their journeys from Scotland to America. Henry Baird was my maternal great-grandfather."
About the Author:
A fourth-generation Californian, Sally Eccleston was a medical narrative writer and science editor for many years at hospitals/universities throughout the Bay Area. In recent years, she also served as a senior editor at the University of California. She is the author of another historical novel,
Leap Beyond Blue Sky Veil.