Orphaned at a young age and although white skinned, Kern was raised by Native Aboriginals in the Australian Outback. After a Whiteman hunting party murdered his Clan, he was forced to kill a crooked peace officer in self-defense. Fleeing Australia, he took a job as a cabin boy onboard a Tea Clipper. As the Lady Beth sails for the Americas, he befriends a passenger named Carl Ver Haven.
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Days before starting an undercover assignment in San Francisco, Lieutenant Crisp boarded the Lady Beth to search for a missing US Diplomat. Captain La Horn claimed that Carl Ver Haven was lost at sea during a storm. Suspecting foul play, Crisp rescued a recently injured boy and dog locked-away inside the dark-holds of the ship. Complicating matters, French and British governments put a price on Kern’s head – Dead or Alive for Murder...

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As the nation stumbles headlong into the abyss of Civil War back East, Crisp and his men have their hands full in the West.

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While probing the possible murder of US Diplomat Carl Ver Haven, Crisp and his men started their undercover assignment investigating a wealthy rancher - Clifford Ackerland. Ackerland is running for political office and pushing for California to secede from the Union, and he has possible ties with a rumored private militia.

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If that wasn't enough, Police Chief Crivitz drags Crisp and his team into hunting for a hammer yielding serial killer!

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Caught in the middle of it all, a deaf boy named Kern on the run from murder charges in Australia, and a dog named Bristol intended as a gift for President Lincoln from the Emperor of China.