Fifer

Who are the men who follow the men who grub for the gold? Doctor Max Fifer and his assistant Ah Chung, having departed San Francisco for a new life in the wilds of British North America, having set up a medical practice and a drug dispensary in Yale in 1858, at the height of the Fraser River gold rush, even before colonial status is proclaimed. Fifer survives the treacherous Ned McGowan's attempt to instigate an American takeover and weathers the colony's lukewarm welcome for non-British subjects. Although an American citizen, a veteran of the Mexican war, Fifer is elected Mayor of his bustling community at the head of navigation on the Fraser River. However, his good fortune is short-lived. The popular healer cannot save himself from the depression of the economic slumps nor from the demented threats of a former patient. Told through the grieving eyes of Ah Chung, over the twenty-four hours while the town awaits the hanging of the murderer of their beloved Dr. Fifer, Prophet, Healer, Fool is a surprising glimpse into the private and professional lives and the politics of forgotten pioneers of the fledgling colony of British Columbia.