On the eve of the French and Indian War, Billy Bartram and his naturalist father travel into the American wilderness in an airship--pursued by a party of French soldiers and haunted by a terrifying bear-wolf--on a quest to find the lost kingdom of the Welsh prince Madoc.

James L. Swanson has written for a variety of publications, including the WALL STREET JOURNAL and the LOS ANGELES TIMES. He is the coauthor of LINCOLN'S ASSASSINS: THEIR TRIAL AND EXECUTION, and he is a member of the advisory committee of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Mr. Swanson is an attorney and has held a number of government and think-tank posts in Washington, DC.