Driven by memories stirred by a broken piece of scrimshaw, Lanny searches for the woman he loves and for their son whom he has never seen. Past events leave his faith in God tattered and bruised. Brought to America as a thirteen-year-old indentured servant but raised as an adopted son by his master, he looks forward to a good life in his new country. His dreams are dashed when tragedies separate him from loved ones and take his adopted family. Evil men kill his plans for his future. His life becomes a search for survivors of those tragedies, and especially for the girl who had given him half of a sailor's broken scrimshaw when they were children. Years of failures and disappointments strain his faith in God and in himself. He fears he will be without family forever, and worse, that he will never reconcile with God. After a severe injury, he finds himself in the care of a newspaper woman and her Cherokee friend. Sensing a news-worthy story, the two women persist in querying him about his past. They, and he, find more than anyone ever expected. Lane Metcalf is the author of three novels. An avid sailor, he often incorporates the thrills and dangers of sailing on the high seas in his stories. His characters grip us as they live out or conflict with Christian principles in his fictional settings.