When he is 17, Norwegian fisherman Lars is sent to live with his uncle in Dakota Territory in America, at least until a famine lets up a little back home. He takes his little brother along, and the two of them must deal with a world quite unlike anything they could have imagined, while also coming to grips with the challenges of growing up. And falling in love. And surviving calamity (not to mention embarrassment - like the time Lars bought his first horse, which turned out to be a strange beast that made him a laughingstock). Some of their adventures and misadventures are recounted by a descendant, in this novel about a family whose ancestors came to America from all over the world. This is a bargain book edition, with a smaller trim size and smaller type size than the usual trade paperback edition.