The tale begins with a game of chess—and on the outcome of that game hinges the destiny of a great city: Chicago. Ranging across the 19th century, Jonathan Carr's epic novel tells the tale of Jean Baptiste Pointe de Sable, the long-unheralded founder of the city; John Stephen Wright, bombastic speculator and booster; and Antje Hunter, the first woman to report for the Chicago Tribune. Interwoven with these narratives are the panoramic stories of loggers, miners, engineers, and educators, sharing their grief as well as their delight.

"An ambitious literary debut that occupies a liminal space between alternative history and experimental literature."—Library Journal