rles G. West, the Spur Award-winning adventure that first introduced the legend of John Hawk, an army scout with a tracker's eye, a cowboy's grit--and his own brand of justice . . .

"Rarely has an author painted the great American West in strokes so bold, vivid, and true." --Ralph Compton
To start their new life together, Jamie Pratt and his young bride join a westward wagon train bound for the Rocky Mountains. They get as far as Helena when their unscrupulous wagon master deserts them, leaving them as good as dead in a godforsaken, blood-scorched land. The other settlers agree to set stakes where they are, but Jamie and his bride press on toward the Bitterroot Valley, deep into Sioux territory.

Jamie's brother, Monroe, enlists the legendary scout, John Hawk, to find them. A hardened veteran of the range, Hawk is living off the land in a little cabin on the Boulder River when Monroe comes begging for his help. To rescue Jamie and his bride, Hawk--and his guns--will come out fighting, riding fast and fierce into deadly odds. For any other man it's a suicide mission. For Hawk, delivering justice is what he was born to do . . .

Winner of the 2018 Spur Award for Best Paperback Western