Pierre Ryder has been forged by the sternest of frontier Jesuits for the hard life of a missionary priest in the frozen wastes of the Far North. Although a novice short of his vows, he is strong in faith and learning, able to ride any horse, to run a hundred miles a day behind a dog team, to fight skillfully and to shoot unerringly. Yet he remains gentle and unaffected, his thoughts as clear as spring water. Into this life, a thunderbolt descends in the form of a letter from his father, long thought dead, who lies dying of a bullet wound. Ignoring the pleas of the good priests, Pierre rides at once to avenge his father, into a life and a country far from all he has ever known. When he meets Jacqueline Boone, their lives are changed forever. He could not forsee the depths of evil and betrayal he would encounter as he confronts unknown enemies and the mystery of the female heart.