William Conklin

An embellished account of the 1803 expedition by famed frigate U.S.S. Constitution--a.k.a. "Old Ironsides"--against the Barbary pirates then terrorizing American shipping, focusing on the crew and passengers of a fictional merchant ship, The Esther, who fall afoul of the same pirates and thus become involved with the Constitution's mission.

In 1898 friends John Thomas and Lars Larson travel to the Yukon with their wives to make their fortunes. While in Alaska Thomas' wife gives birth to a boy, and Larson's wife has a girl, Julia. However, Larson spots a birthmark on his daughter's shoulder that resembles one on Thomas' shoulder, and he begins to suspect that he may not ...