Following the mysterious disappearance of her husband-a prominent, big-city business man-Mrs. Lawton and her two children Allan and Betsy flee to the wilds of south Florida. With the help of an unscrupulous speculator, they set about homesteading a parcel of the Big Cypress swamp at the edge of the Everglades. But life in the southernmost frontier is riddled with hardship and challenges that threaten the family with bankruptcy. The workings of a crafty Seminole, an eccentric doctor, a thieving carnival barker, and a wayward manatee all improbably factor into the fortunes of the Lawtons. Kirk Munroe penned this classic novel in 1894, providing a snapshot into turn-of-the-century life in rugged south Florida. The work of historical fiction is anchored in real-life experiences of early settlers trying to eek a meager existence from a lush-but unforgiving-landscape.