"In 1849, Irish immigrant Seamus Hanley is a lost soul, haunted by his past as a U.S. Army deserter and living alone in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. After witnessing a deadly stage coach crash, he finds purpose in the scattered wreckage -- a letter with a picture of a beautiful woman named Ashlyn living in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush. Moved by her written plea for help, he sets out on an epic journey across the wild and picturesque American frontier. Pursued by those who want to hang him, Seamus encounters fascinating characters, one of them willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in helping Seamus to cross the snowy Yosemite Valley. Battered but changed for the better, Seamus reaches San Francisco on Christmas Eve as the city burns in the tragic fire of 1849. But there is little time for rest, as an even more harrowing adventure involving Ashlyn is about to begin." -- P. [4] of cover.