Fools' Gold — Margaret Greco

An urgent telegram from Alaska recalls sister and brother, Jenny and Jeff Lacy, to a life they had left behind. Giving up Jenny's career and Jeff's school, they return to their northern home--an old wooden frame house and a gold mine, miles from even the isolated small town of Damasguden. The mine's yield of gold has dwindled over the years and now they are to learn that they are in debt for thousands of dollars. Waiting for them in Fairbanks is the sender of the telegram, Anton Avakumoff, the strong and determined Eskimo who, as part-owner of the mine, shares their fortune and misfortune.

There is gold on the property, but where, and how, are they to find it? And how will they survive an Alaskan winter with few supplies and no credit?

Smoke emerging from the smokestack of a deserted cabin heralds the appearance of a new unexpected fourth party. Sigmund Barret, 'Siggy,' has deliberately chosen the seclusion of the forest in order to be alone to write. His presence points a way to the solution of Jeff's problems and he hopes to solve Jenny's 'problems' as well by taking her away as his wife. Jenny's logic and Jeff urge her to believe that life would be good with Siggy, but her emotions and her dreams have long been fastened upon another man.

A blazing forest fire that rages treacherously close to the mine, an incredible and revealing letter found in Siggy's cabin, and a convulsive upheaval of the earth, are all part of a story which is rich in adventure, with a clever and very happy ending.

Also published as: Jenny's Choice