For the sake of cheated settlers, Sheriff Pat Stevens takes on a Powder Valley conman On a weather-beaten stretch of the Kansas prairie, a family fights to survive. Molly Hartsell is only twenty-seven, but years of barely scraping by have made her old before her time. Her children are frail, tired, and hungry. If something doesn’t change soon, the Hartsells are doomed. But Molly’s husband returns from the bank with good news: He sold the farm and invested every penny in property far away in Colorado’s lush Powder Valley. It’s a new start for the Hartsells, but it turns out their troubles are just beginning. When the Hartsells arrive in Powder Valley and discover they were sold a bill of false goods, it seems as if the family is ruined. But Sherriff Pat Stevens—with the help of his loyal friends Sam and Ezra—will fight tooth and nail to defeat the crooked swindlers and make sure everyone in town can call Powder Valley their home.

“Gripping. . . . transforms Sitting Bull, the abstract, romanticized icon and symbol, into a flesh-and-blood person with a down-to-earth story.” —The New York Times Book Review Winner, Spur Award for Best Western Nonfiction Historical Book A New York Times Notable Book Reviled by the United States government as a troublemaker and a coward, revered by his people as a great warrior chief, Sitting Bull has long been one of the most fascinating and misunderstood figures in American history. Distinguished historian Robert M. Utley has forged a compelling portrait of Sitting Bull, presenting the Lakota perspective for the first time and rendering the most unbiased, historically accurate, and vivid portrait of the man to date. The Sitting Bull who emerges in this fast-paced narrative is a complex, towering figure: a great warrior whose skill and bravery in battle were unparalleled; the spiritual leader of his people; a dignified but ultimately tragically stubborn defender of the traditional ways against the steadfast and unwelcome encroachment of the white man. “A definitive biography of this Native American warrior and tribe leader.” —Publishers Weekly “Compelling reading.” —The Washington Post Book World Originally published as The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull

An all-star gang of villains descends on peaceful Powder Valley On a tawdry street in the heart of Denver, men crowd into the saloon for two reasons: cheap whiskey and Connie Dawson. The loveliest singer in Colorado, Connie has a golden voice and a brassy personality, but along with a crooked preacher, a hotshot gambler, and the fastest gunman in town, she’s about to find herself in a whole lot of trouble. All four owe the sinister Judge Prink a favor—and he’s ready to collect. Prink has recently discovered the idyllic township of Powder Valley, home to Sheriff Pat Stevens and his faithful friends Sam and Ezra, and declared it ripe for the picking. With the help of his indentured gang of miscreants, he plans to strip the innocent little community bare. But when he meets Powder Valley’s courageous trio, Prink comes face to face with the law of the gun.

On the trail to New Mexico, Pat Stevens and his friends Sam and Ezra risk their lives to fulfill a dying man’s last wish Two men ride across the desert. One is young, nearly mad with thirst and fear. The other is stalwart—a blue-eyed legend who doesn’t panic at the sight of a hanging posse on their trail. He asks no questions of the young man whose life he’s agreed to save. He simply rides. It has been fifteen years since a youthful Pat Stevens, wrongfully accused of stealing horses, placed his life in the hands of the legendary Mose Higgins. Since then, Pat has settled in Powder Valley and hung up his guns to run his ranch and raise his family. One day, a strange letter comes from New Mexico. Someone has threatened Mose’s life, and only Pat can rescue him and his innocent little girl. Pat owes Mose a priceless debt—and it can only be paid in blood.