A young cowboy finds gold-and a whole lot of trouble--in this action-packed adventure in Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series.
It's the bitterest winter anyone can remember, and Earl Tyrone can barely hold back the wolves preying on his family's last few cattle. He gets no help from his older brother, Byrd, who's only interested in striking out for California. Leaving Earl the sole protector of their ma and sister, Byrd finally reveals the secret source of the funds for his ticket West: he found gold on the ranch, and now its Earl's fortune to mine-if he's strong enough and smart enough to hold on to it.
Earl realizes he'll have to weave a fabric of lies to protect his family and keep prospectors from swarming his land. He hits on a clever plan, but its unintended consequences are rife: painful misunderstandings, the end of two marriages, and, ultimately, deadly conflict with the Uncompaghre Utes.
Earl's stash of glittering gold has become instead a black cloud over his family. Can he come up with a new plan to dispel that cloud and find peace and stability at last? Ralph Compton stood six foot eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist. His first novel, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was the USA Today bestselling author of the Trail of the Gunfighter series, the Border Empire series, the Sundown Riders series, and the Trail Drive series, among others.
