For thousands of emigrants from a myriad of countries, the divergent wilderness that is Calaveras County would become an ordeal or a triumph, a home or a hell, a springboard to a long and rich life or a quick trip to a final resting place. These are the stories told in the 47 chapters of Between the Rivers by O. Henry Mace.

Chapters titles include:
The 48ers and Before – Early explorers and settlers
The Sad Legacy of the Gold Rush – Native Americans of the Mother Lode
Fact and Fiction in the Mother Lode – Calaveras legends and writers
A Most Perilous Journey – Westward by wagon and ship
They Came Too – Women of the Gold Rush
Of Iron Rust and Iron Horses – The copper boom and railroads
Fevers, Quacks, and Healers – Medicine in the mining camp
All the World in a Single Room – The one-room schoolhouse
and much, much more.