As a man who sees his life as ordinary—an enduring, repetitive pain, Gus Rivers acknowledges his destructive indifference is the root of his marriage’s failure. His answer is to run away to unearth the contrast, he believes, will help him rediscover the love and adventure his life needs. There is rejuvenation in separation. Gus chooses Nome. But changing the scenery doesn’t change the man. The diversion of an ill-advised love affair, the intrigue of drug dealers’ plots, covert war, and savage murders blur his initial purpose. Gus eventually learns that there’s no place like Nome.

When Jack Palmer was offered a job as a "cat skinner," driving a tractor for a mining company in Nome, Alaska, there was no time to waste in deciding. It was the morning of June 15, 1934. He had a lovely wife, Alice, a young daughter, Artis, a lot of debt, and no job in Seattle. Jack stepped on to the gangplank of the S.S. Victoria at Pier Two that same afternoon. Alice and Artis received a telegram from Jack later that summer: YOU BE ON LAST BOAT STOP HAVE HOUSE READY STOP BRING FOOD FOR NEXT EIGHT MONTHS STOP JACK A Northwest author with the voice of a natural storyteller, Artis Palmer humorously and tenderly chronicles the challenges faced by her family during the Great Depression. Eccentric characters and unexpected adventures are entertainingly bound by the force of place and community. From bootlegging in Seattle to gold mining in Nome, Alaska, There's No Place Like Nome reveals the courage and resilience of the human spirit in tough times.