Alaska was calling At sixteen LaVerne Guyer was already writing her own music and she believed that her talent could only flourish on the back trails of the Yukon. Alone and impersonating a boy, she hires aboard a freighter, out of Seattle, and works her way to the north. From boat rides on the Yukon and encounters with native tribes to filing homestead papers and working the land, LaVerne uses her newfound frontier wisdom as a basis for expanding both her music and her perceptions. "No man owns what Mother Spirit does not freely give." Black-eyed Joe told her. What a charming folk tale, LaVerne thought. I could use the story in one of my songs. It was here, in the wild, she learns the realities of frontier life that will shape her life, help her create music, and lead her in directions no woman has explored alone before.