This is the fourth book in the "First Frontier" series. At the dawn of the 18th century, the ancient Indian tribes begin a savage conflict - forced to take sides in the white man's war - and are pushed into an era of great heroism and greater loss.
The stunning sequel to Adam's Empire, Kalinda, a multi-generational story that spans several decades, weaves an intricate portrait of war, life in the Australian outback and the family Adam Ross would die to protect.
Private detective Luke Starbuck has been hired to ferret out the Judas working for the Central Pacific - a mastermind behind a string of train robberies. All Starbuck has to do is pass himself off as an outlaw and infiltrate the pack. But making a wrong move could mean murder.
Gold fever hits California, and suddenly the land is full of hungry pioneers. For tough Texas brothers Gil and Van it's a chance to sell well-grazed longhorns after years of hard ranching. But there's one thing they are unprepared for and that's treachery in a land of schemers, dreamers and gold.
When private detective Luke Starbuck was sent to Tombstone to uncover the truth about the OK Corral incident, he found that Wyatt Earp and his friends were treating the Arizona territory as their own personal property. It was then that Luke's mission turned into a personal obsession - to kill Earp.
The railroad's drive to close the great distances of the wild American West was treacherous. John Ryan was hired to troubleshoot and grew to admire the Indian way of life. Before long he'd be forced to choose between the old and the new, between a passionate white woman and a Cherokee maiden.
Set on rescuing their old friend, Clay Duval who is trapped inside war-torn Mexico, Gil and Van Austin cross the border after him and soon discover half of Mexico's army wants them dead.
In the 1870s, former Texas Ranger Andy Pickard, now a restless farmer, drops his plow and straps on his guns when the local sheriff is murdered during a jailbreak. The dead sheriff, Tom Blessing, had been a father figure to Andy, who vows revenge for his killing. The escaped outlaw is Luther Cordell, a dangerous bank robber.
Joshua Buckalew has left behind the deserted battlefields that claimed his brother. The war with Mexico has cost him dear, but it has also given him a strong bond to the land and to the Mexican families who stood with him against the tyrannies of Santa Anna.
Ranger's trail: Spring of 1874, Ranger companies are being reorganized and David "Rusty" Shannon is the most sought-after veteran. But he has a new goal, to marry Josie Monahan. He also feels responsibility for Andy Pickard, who he rescued from the Comanche. But tragedy changes Rusty's plans and bent on revenge, he pursues Josie's killer. But the trail he follows may lead him astray.