She didn't expect to become a target, but she is one now It might have been the mare that did it, stopping dead in her tracks, nearly dropping Aleksandra over her shoulder, or maybe it was the flies that buzzed around the blood pooling beneath the butchered man in the Pony Express station doorway. Whichever it was, it got her full attention. Seventeen year old Aleksandra, trained in the Cossack arts from infancy by her father, finds herself alone and running to prevent her Pa's killer from obtaining a secret coveted by the Russian Czar, one which could alter the forces of power in Europe. Disguised as a Pony Express rider in 1860's Utah Territory, she finds herself in even deeper trouble when she rides full speed into the middle of the Indian Paiute Wars. Her Californio boss Xavier has a strength to match her own, but can they overcome their differences before the ever-increasing odds overtake them? With this, her debut Western Historical Romantic Adventure, Lizzi Tremayne won the 2014 RWNZ Pacific Hearts Award and was a finalist in the 2013 Great Beginnings. A saga of the Old West with a multicultural cast of those who make up America, it would interest readers who enjoy Westerns, horses, American Indians, immigrants, and the Pony Express. It has a capable heroine, strong historical detail, period veterinary treatment and frontier-pushing characters. It has been compared to the work of Phillipa Gregory, Diana Gabaldon and Jean Auel, with a little Laura Ingalls Wilder thrown in. This novel is the first in THE LONG TRAILS quadrilogy of historical romantic adventure sagas, following Aleksandra and Xavier from the wilderness of 1860 Utah to Colonial New Zealand. Western Historical Romantic Adventure Fiction. For: Adult, New Adult and Young Adult >13 yrs Theme(s): Western, horse, Indian, immigrant, Pony Express, veterinary, Utah Territory, Old West. Ages/Pages: 13+ (non-explicit love scene). 361 story pages plus front and back matter including recipes, other books in the series plus ten pages of excerpts from future books in The Long Trails quadrilogy.