Publisher's Synopsis
In 1860 the United States is on the verge of civil war - and economic collapse due to a severe shortage of gold currency. A financial crisis would weaken the Union and help the South's path toward secession. In April the government buys $7,000,000 in California gold for new coins. It will be shipped from San Francisco to the Philadelphia Mint aboard the clipper Sea Eagle, where it is held in a double-locked vault and guarded by an Army detachment. The Sea Eagle leaves San Francisco in September and anchors off Cape May, NJ in January in preparation for entering Philadelphia. That night robbers board during a nor'easter, capture the crew, and break into an empty vault. But how can it be empty? The ship has not stopped en route, the vault is still sealed, and the crew and passengers would know if had been opened. President Buchanan assigns Army major Christopher Brooks to recover the gold and arrest those responsible. Brooks goes to Cape May to investigate and uncovers two separate plots, and the involvement of the Cottonmouth Committee, a secret ring of Southern senators. As the investigation proceeds he clashes with powerful politicians, traitors, and a greedy tyrant. The ongoing action includes violent storms, sea chases, assassination attempts, rescue from a burning mansion, and a sword fight atop a lighthouse.
