Colonel Utah Blaine, held captive by the Army of the Revolution, broke out of jail and headed north from Mexico with nothing but the clothes on his back. Then he found new trouble struggling at the end of a noose-and stepped in just in time to save the life of a Texas rancher. The would-be executioners were the rancher's own men, looking to steal his land.
Now Utah has a unique proposition: Have the wealthy Texan play dead, introduce himself as the spread's new foreman, and take care of the outlaws one by one. The wage to fight another man's war? A hundred a month plus expenses. The cost of falling in love while he earns that wage? It wasn't exactly part of the original agreement, but Utah will soon find out-unless the bad guys get to him first.

Portrait

LOUIS L’AMOUR is the only novelist in history to receive both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. He has published eighty-nine novels; twenty-seven short-story collections; two works of nonfiction; a memoir, Education of a Wandering Man; and a volume of poetry, Smoke from This Altar. There are more than 300 million copies of his books in print.