A biography of the Scottish immigrant barrel-maker whose side line detective work developed into the oldest and most famous detective agency in the United States.

"In February 1861 newly elected President Abraham Lincoln set out on a triumphant 2,000 mile cross-country railroad trip that would take him to his inauguration in Washington, D.C. At the same time, a band of fanatic southern Confederate sympathizers decided to stop Lincoln from reaching Washington and taking office. Furious because the new president's desire to end slavery threatened their way of life, they devised a secret plan: Lincoln would be...