In the southwest corner of Wyoming, the town of Kemmerer embodies a rich history of coal mining and those who came from many different countries to dig the black gold from the earth, then stayed to build a town. The mines, the miners and the unions led Kemmerer to prosperity and the establishment of the railroad, health care and other services in what was once a frontier town. In addition to her mining heritage, Kemmerer stakes her claim as the home of J.C. Penney's first Golden Rule store, the harbinger of a retailing empire that would spread throughout the country and remains a major player in the world of American business to this day. As she did in her previous books about the region, Echoes of Elkol, The Story of a Western Coal Camp and Glencoe, Spelling Out Western Coal Camp History, Dorothy Wright and her collaborators have captured a little known piece of Wyoming's past and preserved it through more than 100 photos along with oral histories, newspaper accounts and carefully documented information that follows the town of Kemmerer and her people from her birth through her history of Mining, Moonshining and Madams to her present day place as a vital part of Wyoming and the West

Established in 1897, incorporated in January of 1899, and located in southwest Wyoming, Kemmerer has been a coal-mining community for over 100 years. Kemmerer became the county seat for Lincoln County in 1911 when Uinta County, one of Wyoming's original five counties, was divided. James Cash Penney opened the first J. C. Penney store in Kemmerer on April 12, 1902. During the 1920s, the Kemmerer area became a large center for moonshining and a large supplier of liquor for Chicago and the Midwest. This ended when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. The rich deposits of fossils in the area have long been a point of interest for paleontologists and geologists, amateur and professional, giving Kemmerer the title "Fossil Fish Capital of the World."

A young systems analyst in Chicago is a witness to a mob murder and flees after an attempt on his life. He ends up hiding out from the mob and the police on a sheep ranch in Kemmerer, Wyoming where he is working as a sheepherder. The mob sends a team of hitmen to find him and he is forced to turn to newly made friends to try to save his life.

Established in 1897, incorporated in January of 1899, and located in southwest Wyoming, Kemmerer has been a coal-mining community for over 100 years. Kemmerer became the county seat for Lincoln County in 1911 when Uinta County, one of Wyoming's original five counties, was divided. James Cash Penney opened the first J. C. Penney store in Kemmerer on April 12, 1902. During the 1920s, the Kemmerer area became a large center for moonshining and a large supplier of liquor for Chicago and the Midwest. This ended when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. The rich deposits of fossils in the area have long been a point of interest for paleontologists and geologists, amateur and professional, giving Kemmerer the title "Fossil Fish Capital of the World."