Joyce of the North Woods

In the quiet, pine‑scented world of St. Angé, a once‑bustling lumber camp has faded into a patchwork of modest homes, a lonely church, and a modest tavern that doubles as post office. The town clings to its narrow connection with the outside—a single‑track railroad and a rough highway that links it to the more prosperous Hillcrest. Life here is simple, yet the community wrestles with an undercurrent of envy toward its neighbor and the lingering sting of isolation after the logging boom ended.

Against this backdrop, the lives of Joyce Birkdale, Jock Filmer, John Gaston and Ralph Drew begin to intertwine when a mysterious “golden bead of love” is said to have washed into the river’s crucible. The promise of that hidden treasure awakens old hopes, sparks new ambitions, and forces each resident to confront the choices that will shape their futures in the woods they call home.