In 1876, after eight years of incarceration at Fremantle Prison in Western Australia, six Irish political prisoners escaped to America on board the American whaler Catalpa. Under the pretext of a whaling voyage, the Catalpa and its courageous and unassuming captain, George Smith Anthony, were part of an ambitious plan to liberate the prisoners. Their story is one of swashbuckling adventure and heroism.

Includes twenty-five stories about firsts in American history with characters ranging from senators and inventors to forgers and poets.

A history of the Secret Service covers assassinations and assassination attempts, presidential demands on the agency, the impact of a Secret Service career on its agents, and issues surrounding agency failures and gender gaps.