Jonathan Banks was both the skipper and the owner of the river boat, Yukon Queen. He had invested his life savings in the big stern wheeler at the start of the gold rush, hoping to make enough money in a single season, to pay off the Seattle banking firm who had financed the purchase of the steamer. The summer had gone well, and the boat had been crowded with prospectors, trappers and adventurers drawn to the north by the lure of wealth. But then the Yukon Queen had damaged her engine...