The Hudson's Bay Company is about to exercise its uncontested monopoly over the lands drained by Hudson Bay. The first step is to find a new source of beaver pelts and profits, and the only hope lies in the unmapped territory held by the Blackfoot-speaking Indian tribes. The new governor mounts an expedition into the heart of this unknown land, a journey that will test the mettle of a new generation of Hudson's Bay Company men. With a new format and price, this brilliant novel tells an incredible story of those who were ruled by the often brutalizing fur trade. It is a story of love and economics and of how European culture, including religion, tried-and often failed-to root itself in this anarchic place. In the end, it is the story of how the mighty fur trade was rolled under by the greater forces of change and history.

Giller Prize finalist and winner fo the Grant MacEwan Author's Award winner, City of Edmonton Book Prize, and Georges Bugnet Award winner for best novel.

Fred Stenson has written sixteen books of fiction and non-fiction. Thing Feigned or Imagined: The Craft in Fiction is based on his experience as a writer of fiction and mentor . His cycle of historical novels, The Trade, Lightning and The Great Karoo have won and been nominated for many awards. The Trade (2000) and Lightning (2003) both won the Grant MacEwan Author’s Prize. The Trade also won the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction and the Edmonton Book Prize, and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Award and short-listed for the Giller Prize. The Great Karoo was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in 2008. Stenson has been writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick, Grant MacEwan College, Calgary Public Library, the community of Whistler, and many other places. He has directed the Wired Writing Studio at The Banff Centre since 2001 and mentored in its writing studios prior to that. He has been the wit columnist at Alberta Views Magazine for the entire fifteen-year life of the publication. He has also written over 150 films and videos.

Fred Stenson's profile page

• Short-listed, Giller Prize

"Stenson's beautifully laconic style, his precise sense of detail and his meticulous research all combine to make The Trade a mesmerizing read, eloquent and heartbreaking."

Ottawa Citizen

"One of the best historical novels ever to be written in this country...A fantastic entertainment."

Globe & Mail