Beyond the Big River: and other western stories »

A collection of people-stories wrapped up in various themes and locations of the old American west.

The fateful trials of a wagon train crossing the Mississippi River; the entertaining conversation between two old-timers killing time instead of bad men; a sheriff with heart trouble still trying to do his job on the plains of Kansas; a touching Wyoming tale of an aging rancher out for revenge; a Boston lady discovering violence in Tombstone, Arizona; the poignant memoir of a youth facing a gallows in Texas; a wounded marshal caught up in a disturbing family death near Cripple Creek, Colorado; a desperate man full of love for his dying wife in Dodge City, Kansas; an Arizona posse out for the kill; and an injured gambler cared for by a traveling troupe of prostitutes in Nevada.

Such are the men and women who fill the pages of ten new intriguing tales of the American west of the nineteenth century. These narratives of human interest are all wrapped up in themes of mystery, death, love, and dedication. Forgoing the standard heroics and shoot- em-up action found in formula westerns, this collection of stories intimately explores the people and their continual struggle with themselves and each other as they seek their own brand of justice.