It is only when she faces imminent death in the snow and ice-encrusted Virginia wilderness that she finally understands the power of destiny. Mercy is passionate. She loves and hates in equal measure. Can love and hatred give her the strength she needs now to reach a Northern state, and free a runaway slave wanted for murders, she committed? America and her people are strangled in an uncompromising political stalemate. Southern states have seceded from the Union, and a civil war is imminent. Mercy Carver: her journey is just beginning.

    Clues led to the mysterious Water Pit on Ragged Island, Maine-but a curse left behind by the long-dead Ockham seems to be working. Every expedition has failed; the treasure seekers died in gruesome fashions. Now a new expedition has been mounted, using state-of-the-art computer technology and backed by tens of millions of dollars. It will all be worth it, if the treasure estimated to be worth $2 billion can be found. But modern technology, no matter how expensive, may not be enough to overcome the deadly secrets of the Water Pit.