Northwest!

The story opens in a cramped, cigar‑filled hotel room perched on a Canadian mountain ridge, where a battered deck of cards becomes the center of a restless night. Jimmy Leyland, a brash English lad with a quick hand, faces off against Deering—a rotund American climber with a perpetual grin—and Stannard, a lean, athletic Englishman known for his daring exploits in Parisian clubs. Watching from the shadows is Jackson, a quiet, dark‑skinned gentleman from Carolina whose steady gaze hints at deeper stakes than the money on the table.

Beyond the tension of the game, the veranda offers a sweeping view of pine‑clad valleys, a glittering river, and mist‑shrouded peaks that seem to breathe an icy wind into the room. As the night deepens, Jimmy wrestles with the lure of winning more money and the uneasy feeling that his luck may be turning. The scene sets up a clash of friendship, pride, and the wild frontier that promises both danger and revelation.