n the devastating aftermath of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, 19-year-old Anna Gallagher faces considerable pressure to marry well and soon. But she has no intention of giving up her freedom to keep house. She wants to be the first woman to summit Mount Rainier.
Anna’s grandfather couldn’t disapprove more. And after he discovers that she’s befriended a Duwamish woman in the forest, he threatens to disown her completely.
Still, her resolve to summit doesn’t waver until she meets a fisherman who seems to love adventure as much as she does. He’s not the kind of high society gentleman who could save their family’s finances after the fire, but he adores her and treats her like an equal.
Mountaineering through glaciers, avalanches, and frozen temperatures might cause Anna’s family to disown her forever. It might even ruin any future marriage prospects. But if she succeeds in reaching the icy peak, she could pioneer the way for women mountaineers, and create a new identify for herself, something she’s been longing for her whole life.