This story is driven by a grandmother's love for her ten-year old, half Indian grandson, and his growing respect for her. As she tells the saga of a prostitute and others in her life, the grandson learns about his heritage. Along the way there is Arctic adventure, peril, romance of the sea, Seattle as a pioneer lumber town and an assortment of colorful characters. All of this is guided by the strong, brave, women the book is really about. It is a story that expands from primitive Indian villages, to include Paris, the opera, sailing ships, and of course Seattle. It is a cross-cultural, cross-generational novel of the Pacific Northwest with homage to female protagonists. Unusual in 2005 story telling, all of this happens without foul language, gratuitous sex, or violence. And, yes, it really is possible to inherit the tide.