The telegraph he had gotten from Kathryn, the niece he hadn't seen in years, left Rick Barnett, a miner turned rancher, with an unsettled feeling. How should he respond to her urgent request? Why would she want to leave Lexington, Kentucky and come to the rugged West of 1878? The journey would be long, traveling by train and stagecoach, and could she adapt from the luxury she was accustomed to and live a more primitive life on a ranch in Colorado? But he agrees for her to come, and the events in this novel, centering around the towns of Villa Grove and Bonanza, Colorado prior to the gold and silver mining boom, feature elements of surprise, humor, laughter and tears, all leading to how tragic events can changes the lives of those involved. PAT CHAMBERLAIN MURRAY was born in Milwaukee, but lived in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Having gone to the top of Pikes Peak in high school, she was drawn to the West. After time in Durango, Colorado, then later in Apache Junction and Mesa, Arizona, the Rocky Mountains lured her back to Colorado where she met her husband, Mike, a Del Norte, Colorado native. Here she got her first horse and rode him in parades. Pat and Mike now make their home in the San Luis Valley.