The history of the Western United States is a saga of territory added in haphazard pieces, as those in power grabbed what they could. Sometimes this happened as a good financial bargain, like Thomas Jefferson’s 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Sometimes it was the result of diplomacy, such as our Northwest corner given by treaty with Britain in 1846. From the Texas territory to the unimagined vastness of Alaska, the United States took what it could get, in many cases without knowing anything about what it had acquired.

Death on the North Rim follows one of the men who wanted to fill the blank spots on the map: George Bradley, a Civil War veteran who joins John Wesley Powell and the crew of men who made the first trip through the canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Facing unknown dangers, these men attempt to navigate territory that no American settler has ever seen before. And then, when they are confronted by the terrifying Separation Rapids, a decision must be made that will result in an unsolved mystery.

Inspired by an expedition commemorating the 100th anniversary of Powell’s legendary trip, Death on the North Rim is a compelling, meticulously researched tribute to the power and beauty of America’s wilderness and the men who dared to explore it.