"Superb from start to finish. An instant classic. " --New York Times
Bestselling Author Marc Cameron
Based on real events and the true history of the legendary King Ranch
in South Texas, this riveting historical adventure evokes the reality of
life on the Texas frontier, as one pioneering family battles to forge a
new life and carve out their own piece of the American West...
It's 1852. The wounds of the Mexican War are healing. Regis Royle,
co-owner of a steamship fleet, has made it out alive, relatively
unscarred and with enough profit and foolhardy ambition to envision a
new life in south Texas. With the help of his crack-shot kid brother
Shepley, his glad-handing riverboat partner Cormac Delany, and his old
friend, raw-edged former Texas Ranger Jarvis "Bone" McGraw, Regis is
laying claim to the prime jewel in a magnificent rolling prairie: the
Santa Calina range teeming with wild mustangs, cattle, and
eighteen-thousand acres of lush promise.
But all dreams have a price. For Regis, it's hell to pay--and the fire
is coming at him from all directions. On one side of the border, it's
banditos and a vengeful Mexican heiress with a passionate hatred for
greenhorn gringos. Especially those who have their eye on land once
owned by her family. On the other side, the Apaches, slave traders, and
outlaws have Santa Calina in their sights. And none of them are going to
walk away from the bloody battle.
The brothers Royle and their partners have the most to lose--including
their lives. They made a pledge to themselves to build the greatest
ranch in America. To see it through to the end, they'll have to ride
hard and learn the bitter necessity of violence and bloodshed.
