New 6x9 inch paperback edition. "Riders of the Purple Sage" tells the story of Jane Withersteen and her battle to overcome her persecution by members of her polygamous Mormon Church. A second plot follows Venters and his escape to the wilderness with a girl named Bess, whom he has accidentally shot. Venters falls in love with the girl, and together they escape to the East, while Lassiter, Fay, and Jane, pursued by both Mormons and rustlers, escape into a paradise-like valley by toppling a giant balancing rock, forever closing off the only way in or out. Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the American frontier. Grey wrote over 100 books, mostly westerns, but also a few history books and many sporting stories about baseball and his favorite pastime, fishing. Grey's books became very popular during his lifetime with countless movies being adapted from them.