The Ring, formerly published as Tell Me, Grandmother, is the story of Sam and Jane Livingston, Calgary’s first settlers, as told by Grandmother Jane to her grandson, Dennis Dowler.

When Dennis asked Grandmother Jane how she got that mysterious ring she kept twisting around her finger, he discovered that Great-grandfather Joseph Howse was the first fur trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company west of the Rockies, and Grandfather Sam was a famous gold prospector, fur trader, buffalo hunter and Fort Calgary’s first farmer. But it was Grandmother Jane’s story Dennis liked best: her life at the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg), her adventures crossing the prairie in an ox cart and raising her large family in a sod hut. Dennis became proud to be Métis.

This is a fascinating tale of love between a Métis woman and a flamboyant Irishman. Their romance, though not traditional in any way, was symbolized by the ring given to Jane as a token of his undying love. It remains today as a legacy to the many descendants of this remarkable couple.