Book excerpt: In 1864, headstrong Pinkerton man Zachary Beddoes is tired of guarding hotels and railway stations, so he decides to quit his life of private law-enforcement and head west for gold. In San Francisco, Zachary hears that the best goldfields are north in the Devil's own region : British Columbia. Undeterred by warnings of how rough and unforgiving the Barkerville goldfields can be, Zachary goes in search of his fortune. Not even a few weeks into his bold trek for riches, Zachary is forced to kill a man in self-defence, and perhaps unwisely, takes the dead man's cache of stolen gold. Unwittingly turned outlaw, Zachary must flee into the bush and rely on a Chinese prospector named Rosh to keep him alive. In an adventure Zachary could never have dreamed up, he and Rosh dodge bullets, prevent Rosh's wife from being kidnapped, and survive in the harsh wilderness. Set in the wild west of the north, Zachary defies nature and the will of Canada's lawmen in a desperate feat to survive.