NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR W. MICHAEL GEAR TAKES YOU DEEP INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

John Tylor figures everything is finally coming his way. He's got what he wants: a free shot into the wilderness where no one will ever know his name or his shame. As he and Will Cunningham head west into the northern Plains, Tylor rescues a wounded hawk, which he had dreams foretelling the event.

Tylor and Cunningham run smack into a party of Arapaho who is eager to relieve these solitary white guys of everything they've got, including the hawk. Fortunately, guided by visions, Gray Bear and his desperate little band of Shoshoni, arrive in the nick of time to drive off the Arapaho. The wounded hawk is proof of prophecy coming true.

A half-drowned Fenway McKeever has pulled himself out of the river, and he's enraged and seeking revenge. The Arapaho, feeling they've been humiliated, are also on Tylor and Gray Bear's backtrail, especially with the enticement of a bundle of guns. The race is on and Tylor and company are desperate to make the return to Shoshoni country and the safety of the mountains.

Will the wounded hawk ever be healed, let alone fit enough to finally take wing? Sometimes the simplest of dreams are the hardest to fulfill.

Richard Jones