In 1912, teenage sisters Tilda and Ida leave their father and their indentured farm in Finland and immigrate to Portland, Oregon. Here in a bustling city with a large Scandinavian population, they find the good life America promised. Yet, when Tilda marries Charlie, a handsome Swede Finn logger, she moves into a remote logging camp in the Olympic Mountains and finds herself indentured to a life even more severe than the one she left.
Logging methods are primitive and camp life is harsh. Forest fires and accidents plague the logging community. Still, with optimism and spirit, these familiesÑprimarily Scandinavian immigrantsÑfind ways to enjoy life. This book is about these yearsÑthe good times and the bad times. It ends in 1939, when Charlie takes his family and leaves the woods for a less-strenuous occupation.