The River's End

Royal Northwest Mounted Policeman Derwent Conniston has been chasing outlaw John Keith for four years up in the arctic part of Canada. Just when he is about to get his man, Conniston falls deathly ill. To his surprise it's his prisoner, Keith, who tries to nurse him back to health. As the two men get to know each other on a personal basis, Conniston begins to doubt that Keith is guilty of the murder he's accused of. Noticing how much they look alike, and also that he's not going to survive, Conniston gives Keith a crash course on impersonating himself, then dies. Under his new alias, Keith returns to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, sight of the murder. As "Conniston", Keith tells the commanding officer that it was "Keith" who had died in the wilderness. Believing he's successfully fooled everyone, Keith sets out to prove his own innocence. His efforts are complicated by Miriam Kirkstone, daughter of the man who was killed, who was acting rather strange. Then there is the strange disappearance of Miriam's brother, Peter, who was present the night his father was murdered. The mysterious Shan Tung, who sneaks in and out of the Kirkstone home at all hours, seems to know something. And just to make things even more complicated, out of the woodwork pops Conniston's long lost sister, Mary Josephine. It's been many years since the siblings have seen each other. Will Keith be able to fool her? Since there has to be romance, Keith falls in love with Mary Josephine. He can't make a move on her, though, since he's supposed to be her brother! All in all, Curwood once again wove a fantastic tale set in humble surrounds, with black forests, frozen lakes, wolf packs, half Indian, half-Eskimo inhabitants, and a tender love story.