It's 1893. Buoyed by his capture of a slippery nemesis in Florida, Scotland Yard inspector Maurice Ogelvie plans to return to London. As unexpected events draw him ever further west, the young man discovers a brash new country, and a rebellious inner self that he has long suppressed. Torn between the call of duty and the wonders that repeatedly beckon him, he is changed forever.

In "Return to the River," he tells of the new Madison Square Garden, Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge--and police corruption in New York City. Chicago shows him the "White City," the Great Columbian Exposition,...