The Thin Black Line

This is David Rowland's first novel. The story is set during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 19th century. Summer 1897, Samuel Cross labours tirelessly on his father's farm. he longs for a more fulfilling life and welcomes the monthly trip into the port of Seattle to pick up supplies. It is during such a visit, that he reads a newspaper headline that gold has been found in the Klondike and men have returned richer than they could have imagined. With little prospect that his life will change, he takes control and leaves for Seattle without telling his parents. Luck is on his side as he finds a company looking for cooks to feed the mining company employees in the Klondike; the steamer departs tomorrow. On board he meets up with three young men similar to himself, all with different stories to tell, one of which will come to threaten his own life. The story follows the young men as their friendship grows and they endeavour to strike it rich in the frozen north.