Shipwrecked Lives: A novel about the Empress of Ireland disaster and the cover-up.

May 1914 - St. Lawrence River, Canada

"The Empress was listing to starboard at a dangerous angle. Alice and her son Jamie, a little boy in a sailor suit, sat perched on the railing, looking down at the lifeboat in the water. Several dozen people had jumped into the water in desperation. Tom crawled over to Alice and Jamie with two lifebelts under his arm.

"Alice put this on," said Tom.

"But I can swim, Tom. You put it on," replied Alice.

"Do it now, dear. I'll hold Jamie."

Alice slipped into th...