Joel Shelby is tied up naked and spread-eagled on a river bank. The young cowboy has been captured by a group of renegade Apaches while panning for gold on the Salt River Canyon. They left him overnight, but plan to return at daybreak to torture him. As he lies there, beaten, sun baked and delirious, Joel thinks back on his life and all the troubles he has encountered on his journey to the Salt River. He left the ranch with his half-wild dog Snake, was imprisoned in a small town and wrongfully accused of stealing horses, was ambushed by bandits, and he sees a white girl held captive by the Apaches who needs rescuing. Will Joel be able to escape and help the girl, or will he meet his fate in the morning? The period is 1861, the first year of the American Civil War. Now retired, Flip Lipscomb lives with his wife in Derby, England, where they love to walk the dales. He practices Kung Fu and has been a black belt for over twenty years. He is writing the sequel. Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/FlipLipscomb