Gustav left the sailing ship and returned to marry the young woman who had been waiting for him in Norway. The first two chapters of the story are set in the late 19th and early 20th century Norway, and with merchant sailing ships in the southern oceans during the era of the Boer War. This era saw the decline of the merchant sailing ship industry in Norway, followed by the fourth wave of emigration to America at the turn of the century.

Gustav and his brother Olav sailed from Norway to New York in the spring of 1903, leaving behind Gustav's pregnant wife, Anna. She would join them later.

In 1904, Gustav and his brother Olav left for America, where they sought employment in New York and then in the lumber and coal-mining industries in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky.  Their incomes were satisfactory until 1907, when Gustav brought Anna and their daughter to Stearns, Kentucky. They were joined by Gustav's youngest brother and Anna's two brothers. In their letters they describe the social conditions and their experiences in the company town of Stearns.

After a great economic recession began they left Stearns in 1910, and sought employment in the northern States: Ludington, Michigan; Duluth, Minnesota; and Burlington, North Dakota. In 1911, they moved to Western Canada to take up the Canadian Government offer of free homesteading land.

The background image is of the Rosseland farm in Norway, photo by Olav Roseland