This historical novel begins with the adventures of teenage brothers
Adam and Henry Baird, as well as Adam's future wife, Catherine Malcolm.
The three young Scots venture separately, and overcome great peril
traveling to America in the 1860s, leaving forever the Baird's large,
close-knit family in Scotland.
All the Baird siblings are influenced by folklore and encounters with
spiritually advanced magical fairy creatures on their Scottish ranch,
Drumdruils. Adam and Henry both become entrenched in scandal. Adam,
entangled in a romantic relationship with his spinster teacher, boards a
steamer ship for America.
When Henry Baird's girlfriend dies in childbirth, he joins Adam as a
carpenter in the Caledonian mines in Nevada, leaving behind his
daughter. Their childhood friend, Catherine Malcolm, travels on the SS
Alabama steamer to wed Adam. Her ship hits an iceberg. The captain saves
the ship and proposes marriage to Catherine in Newfoundland.
Catherine weds Adam in Virginia City, and befriends the downtrodden
Paiute Indians. Adam almost dies in the mines. The three Scots become
embroiled in Indian unrest, murders, and an explosion/fire downtown.
Henry eventually becomes a rancher in California and marries. His wife
Sarah dies after the birth of their daughter Katherine, who was the
author's grandmother.
Says the author; "I possess autobiographies of my Scottish paternal
great-grandparents, Adam Baird and Catherine Malcolm Baird, recounting
their journeys from Scotland to America. Henry Baird was my maternal
great-grandfather."
About the Author: A fourth-generation Californian, Sally Eccleston
was a medical narrative writer and science editor for many years at
hospitals/universities throughout the Bay Area. In recent years, she
also served as a senior editor at the University of California. She is
the author of another historical novel, Leap Beyond Blue Sky Veil.
