The Great Quest: A Romance of 1826, Wherein Are Recorded the Experiences of Josiah Woods of Topham, and of Those Others with Whom He Sailed for Cuba and the Gulf of Guinea

In the sleepy village of Topham, summer 1826, Josiah Woods has spent his days behind his uncle Seth Upham's general store, measuring flour and listening to the gossip of farmers. But everything shifts when Neil Gleazen rides back into town after twenty mysterious years away. Josiah overhears fragments of conversation that hint at old debts, hidden intentions, and a voyage that could take him far beyond the counter where he's spent his whole life. The promise of sailing for Cuba and the Gulf of Guinea, of seeing the world before it passes him by, becomes irresistible. What begins as a young clerk's longing for something more transforms into a dangerous journey across seas where loyalty will be tested, secrets will surface, and the question of who to trust may determine whether Josiah returns home at all. Hawes crafts an old-fashioned adventure in the finest tradition: full of sea storms, strange lands, and the particular ache of wanting something you cannot name.