At the turn of the 19th century, a young navigator migrates to America from a tiny island off the coast of Denmark. He becomes shipmaster of the Sting in the War of 1812. His son, a successful hatter, travels to Arizona during the Mexican/American War to defend his adopted country. The son of the hatter rejects the sedate life of Portland, Maine, and trains as a horse handler, determined to venture west of the Mississippi. A three-book series: Handler, Radioman, and Filtrator, examines that moment when a boy's physical surroundings, the community in which he lives, and the unique circumstance of his life triggers a transition to manhood. The Martensen Chronicles tell of the dreams and sweat, the loves and the losses, the inevitability of growing up, and the responsibilities men embrace in providing for the next generation amidst the rise and fall of the modern era.