The River's End

"The River's End" by James Oliver Curwood is a tale set in the rugged landscape of the Northwest, focusing on Derwent Conniston, a Mountie, and Keith, an outlaw who bears an uncanny resemblance to him. The book is about complex moral issues when Conniston, who has been chasing Keith, finds himself face to face with the man he has been tasked with bringing to justice, a criminal he also feels strangely connected to. As Conniston is at death's door, the story picks up speed and throws the characters together in a cabin during a storm when the men consider a daring plan: with Conniston's death coming, an exchange of identities, and the narrative quickly escalates with suspense and with questions about friendship and honor at its core.