We’re in the island summer home of Alicia and David. Two men are pitching David about financing a deep search for a cannon they say was lost in the Lake by Henry Knox during his Revolutionary War transport of Ticonderoga artillery to drive the British out of Boston.

 David dabbles in local history, while college professor Alicia illuminates for students the mythic role of the vanishing Mohican tribe in Cooper’s classic tale. Both lament the fate of his heroine, Cora, a full-blooded avatar of diversity sacrificed to the unyielding societal rules of her day. David, a private investor with an itch to play and a big buck to spare, bites.

As the search begins, investigative reporter Welly Fludgate has been missing for a year. Welly and sister Miranda are Jamaican branch descendants of the Howe brothers of 18th century British military fame. After nosing around the Albany Capitol, Welly was last seen on a homage on the Lake to the site of the eldest Howe’s heroic death at Fort Ticonderoga. Miranda, the unacknowledged ghost writer of her brother’s best-selling exposes, keeps a fire lit under the FBI to solve his disappearance.

Down Albany way, Governor Gennaro syndicates his soul for foreign support as he maneuvers to lead his party’s ticket in the next Presidential and Alicia’s son Archer, a popular local TV journalist, has hitched a ride on the Governor’s star.

Search efforts produce only lake junk until the team adds expert divers, including Cort, a striking young Indian woman skilled at deep water recoveries, and reminiscent of Cora in Cooper’s novel. Enamored, Archer pursues the fair lady. At a mystical waterfall, Cort meets an Old Man of the Mountains and is told of the scene of a Great Splash where the Knox’ men lost part of their cargo. Re-directed, the team soon makes surprising discoveries and Cort is the heroine of the day.

One discovery has modern-day consequences, the other could have easily changed the course of American history. This, and what it all may portend for the future is the story that awaits.