elsa: a historical novel about love, survival, and making choices in a canadian mining town

Vancouver, 1881
Elsa waits anxiously for a letter from her friend Paul, who is covering the Boer War in South Africa as a journalist. His letter brings good news: he is returning to Canada, along with his two friends, Fred and Dylan. Upon their return, it turns out that not all of them have come through the war unscathed. Moreover, Elsa struggles with the fact that Paul will soon have to leave again for months on work assignments.
Then, gold fever sweeps through the western part of Canada. Elsa accompanies her foster sister, Kate, who is compelled to follow her husband, Dylan, to a mining town on Mount Sicker, Vancouver Island. Paul travels with them to write articles for the newspaper.
Elsa finds it difficult to watch Kate suffer from her husband’s reckless behavior. When Dylan is seriously injured in a mining accident, Kate’s future becomes even more uncertain.
Elsa and Kate must make decisions that will shape the course of their lives. Will Kate manage now that the responsibility for the family rests on her shoulders? Does Elsa have a future with Paul, or will he continue to travel the world without her?