Characters

Bobby Martin

The son of a legendary Dene bush pilot, Bobby practically grew up in the Arctic Air hangar. But after his father's death, Bobby left Yellowknife to carve his own path as a venture capitalist in Vancouver. For the better part of a decade, Bobby rarely returned north of sixty, but a diamond exploration deal (and his niece's wedding) lands Bobby... Read More »

Krista Ivarson

Much like Bobby, Krista grew up in shadow of her father, Mel, the crusty co-founder of Arctic Air. A talented pilot and natural leader, Krista garners respect around the Arctic Air hangar. Smoking hot in a careless, workboots-and-baggy-sweatshirt sort of way, Krista had to prove herself in the eyes of her fellow pilots. But her skill in the air speaks... Read More »

Mel Ivarson

For over thirty years, Mel Ivarson has run Arctic Air the only way he knows how: his way. An old-school, rugged bush pilot at heart, Mel would rather stay ten thousand feet above the fools, bureaucrats and balance books that plague his days. But he has a soft spot for certain members of his Arctic Air family, even though he'd... Read More »

Cece Cooper

The man responsible for keeping Arctic Air's aging fleet airborne, sometimes (quite literally) with nothing but ingenuity and duct tape. Mercifully, he's up to the task. Cece is a mechanical savant who can MacGyver almost anything - he once used a stovepipe at a prospector's camp to patch up a busted tail fin. A laconic country-music-loving gearhead from Nova Scotia,... Read More »

Loreen Cassway

Rock solid, formidably self-possessed, Loreen coordinates the day-to-day running of Arctic Air, overseeing the schedule and liaising with the clients - who can range from the manager of the food co-op at some far-flung outpost who's jonesing for his potato chips, to the head honcho at a diamond mine awaiting a million-dollar piece of equipment. Doing the job well requires... Read More »

Hailey Martin

Assistant Cargo Manager. Bobby's niece and Deanna's daughter, Hailey is cheerful, outgoing, and confident. Shee] is keen to launch her married life with Kirby, without sacrificing her independence. Like her uncle Bobby, she can be impetuous and stubborn - sometimes taking bold action before she's stopped to consider the possible consequences.... Read More »

Kirby Nystoruk

A YK boy, born and bred, Kirby has been working for three years as a mechanic at Arctic Air. It's a chance to build a career - and to learn from the master, Cece Cooper. Awkward and painfully prone to self-doubt, Kirby can nonetheless be startlingly resourceful when the chips are down. He's also doggedly determined to prove himself. After... Read More »

Blake Laviolette

He's Krista's rival as a young top-gun pilot. A sharp-dressing pilot from Winnipeg, Blake (like Krista) has wanted to be a pilot since he was a little kid. Unlike Krista, Blake's loyalty to Arctic Air - and to pretty much everything else - tends to be situational. Restless and ambitious, Blake sees Arctic Air as a stepping-stone to bigger and... Read More »

Astrid Poulsen

Astrid is Swedish, from the small northern town of Skovde, and has been working at Arctic Air for six months. Athletic and intense, Astrid is - unlike Dev - completely at home in the North. She was a competitive biathlete back home, and brings the same intensity to her job - which is both good and bad. She works harder... Read More »

Dev Panwar

The ultimate fish-out-of water, a homesick stranger trying to find his place in a very strange land, Dev is a flight school graduate from India. He arrives at Arctic Air with a diploma, a dream and a dawning expression of disbelief at what he has gotten himself into. But after some initial stunned blundering, Dev begins to discover resources he... Read More »

Nelson Janvier

Unlike Dev and Astrid, Nelson has no dream of becoming a pilot. He just wants a chance to build a decent life for himself and his troubled 15-year-old sister, CAITLIN. A skilled Dene hunter and trapper from a small Northern community, Nelson has struggled to adapt to the "big city" of Yellowknife since he arrived a year ago. He's a... Read More »

Ronnie Dearman

He's a cowboy-booted business buccaneer, based in Calgary, where he runs a highly successful mineral exploration company. Equal parts folksy charm, visionary acumen and ruthless calculation, Dearman is aggressively expanding his operations into the North, to capitalize on the Arctic resources boom. It doesn't take long before Bobby makes a very bad enemy of Dearman, and with major financial resources... Read More »

Caitlin Janvier

Strong-willed and rebellious, Caitlin's involvement with a bad crowd in her home town of Jackson River was a big part of Nelson's decision to bring her south with him to Yellowknife, in search of a fresh start. Caitlin genuinely loves her brother, and she's trying to turn her life around. But Nelson works long hours, which means Caitlin is on... Read More »

Petra Hossa

She and Bobby were high school sweethearts, but only briefly. She discovered she was pregnant soon after he left YK, but told him she didn't want him involved - the two of them had already broken up, and fiercely independent Petra resolved to raise the child on her own. She's married now, to a rig-worker who's away for months at... Read More »

Doc Hossa

Petra's father. An exuberant, booming bull of a man, Doc Hossa is a doctor who worked for a number of years in YK before pouring his savings into a lifelong dream: a remote Northern fishing camp. As a man of large emotions, he knows it is time to let bygones be bygones where Bobby is concerned - but saying it,... Read More »

Connor Hossa

Bobby and Petra's eleven-year-old son. He's a great kid - curious and adventuresome and well-adjusted - and he has no idea that Bobby is his father. They've never even laid eyes on one another. But they'll meet soon enough, under extraordinary circumstances, and Bobby will be faced with one of the toughest decisions of his life: what, if anything, does... Read More »

Shontal Hicks

With two tours in Iraq under her belt, this former U.S. Air Force pilot turned down offers from the major airlines before moving to Yellowknife with dreams of northern flying. Shontal began her civilian career with Twin Lakes Airlines, but looked for a better fit when the company got rid of its last DC-3, the plane her grandfather, a WWII... Read More »

Deanna Martin

Bobby's sister and Hailey's mother. A born rebel, Deanna took a long detour through dark places, including teenage single motherhood and alcoholism. But she has pulled her life together in spectacular fashion, and is a force to be reckoned with. She loves her younger brother Bobby fiercely, but is at the same time witheringly clear-eyed about his shortcomings. As far... Read More »

Rita Gilbride

Originally from Vancouver, she worked for a number of years as a health care professional down south before burning out. She came North fifteen years ago, fell in love with it, and has carved a niche for herself as a Nurse Practitioner, based in the tiny community of Sibbeston Lake. She's another example of someone who has reinvented herself in... Read More »

Zachary Ward

The owner of a YK-based trucking company, and a leader in the Dene community, Zach at first glance is a role model: tough but fair, an energetic supporter of Dene economic initiatives, always ready to lend a word of counsel or a helping hand. Nelson Janvier and his sister, Caitlin, are among many whom Zach has taken under his... Read More »

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