A once-in-a-lifetime experience! Adventure you'll never forget! View the solar eclipse in the Wild West! Irresistible - to some. In 1878 the shadow of the American Eclipse's s path was predicted to sweep from Alaska southeast across the Rocky Mountains, promising an enthralling event guaranteed to strike envy into the hearts of the less adventurous for the rest of your life. But how to get to the edge of the frontier safely? Victoria Bearskin of the Wyandotte tribe, although a student in Vassar's astronomy program, is forbidden to go with the official expedition. Nofina Nolana, an oyster pirate scoundrel from San Francisco drunkenly orders his crew to hijack a boat to Juneau - which boat turns out to be Captain Nemo's long-lost Nautilus submarine. From New Orleans Lurie and Clark ride paddle steamers up the mighty rivers of America's heart, racing to preserve images of the event. While all eyes look ahead to their sweet moments in moonshadow they overlook chance encounters with bad men, big animals and birthin' babies. After all that, who would emerge from the mad gambles? All learn there are no promises in this life, but there are second chances, and new beginnings are often born from once-in-a-lifetime experiences. A stand-alone novelette of 15,000 words by Lindsay Petersen.