In a long letter to his parents, Stefan gives us an inside story of what it is like to be caught up in the 1890s Gold Rush in Alaska. We must admire the determination of this sensitive, courageous youth to overcome endless obstacles in his pursuit of his dream--gold. He lets us feel the thrill of finding his first gold nugget. Driven by gold fever, he embarks on a series of exciting adventures, from the vast wilderness of Alaska to exotic landscapes in South America, Africa, India, Australia, and back to the Klondike. Although his obsession to find gold develops into greed, his travels have a maturing effect on the callow youth. After many hardships have ravished his body and frustration of his goal to strike it rich, Stefan responds to the outcry of his neglected soul. Instead of riches he achieves spiritual peace.

Born and raised in war-torn Germany, Rosemarie Schulga emigrated to Australia, but not before falling love with an American soldier. Their bond brought her to America, where they married and had two daughters. Rosemarie studied art and Russian at the University of Arizona. In 1964, she was asked by a lady to translate a long letter in German, hand-written in Gothic script, by her uncle. The letter recounted the fascinating adventures of a young man in the 1890s Gold Rush in Alaska and around the world, which captured her heart. Rosemarie felt it deserved not to be forgotten. Having written books about her own harsh youth: In the Shadow of the Mill and Girl Without a Country, which she translated into German as Im Schatten der Mühle and Mädchen Courage, gave her the inspiration to write Gold Fever in the 1890s.