The Civil War has ended, and Union soldiers and federal officials have taken control of Texas as Rusty Shannon rides to his home on the Colorado River. As a child, he was a captive of the Comanche, as a young man a proud member of a ranging company protecting settlers from Indian raids. Shannon's fate is intertwined with the young man accompanying him: Andy Pickard, himself but recently rescued from Comanche captivity and known by his captors as Badger...

Comanche Indian captive Eli McCullough must carve a place for himself in a world in which he does not fully belong--a journey of adventure, tragedy, hardship, grit, and luck that reverberates in the lives of his progeny.

"Twenty years ago, seven-year-old Sam was rescued by Indians after his family was massacred on the way to their new ranch in Desperation. Raised by a Sioux medicine man who taught Sam his skills, Sam is on the trail to Desperation to find the man responsible for the massacre of his family"--

"For newlyweds Jaine and Ter Bryant the long tiring journey across the prairie from their comfortable home in Natchez was a small price to pay for the new life they hoped to find in the promised land of California. But the dream became a nightmare when their wagon train was attacked by a Commanche war party"--

Spring, 1850. After a brutally long winter in the Rockies, Mack Harrigan and his growing family have learned to manage the harsh realities of frontier life. Their new friends, the Shoshone, have taught them the skills they need to survive in this rugged land, from tracking and hunting to fishing and foraging. But the skills they need most are those of the Shoshone warrior ... when their camp is attacked by an enemy tribe. Sometimes there is a need...