The Romance of Gilbert Holmes: An Historical Novel

A young man survives a river wreck and races to save his drifting parents, an ordeal that launches a succession of frontier adventures. The narrative follows encounters with an Indian chief and woman, hunters, timber wolves, highwaymen, conspirators, and other perilous presences. Episodes unfold as duels, trials, murder in a notorious hollow, steamboat competition, and wartime separations tied to Lincoln and Davis, testing loyalties and survival. Amid public turmoil the protagonist endures convalescence, confronts conspiracies, and rebuilds personal ties, culminating in reunion, a deepening romantic attachment, and an eventual betrothal.