This vivid and historical account of Thurber Mingus spans a century that starts shortly after Texas becomes the 28th state of the United States in 1845. At the age of 9 Thurber was captured by Kiowa Indians on the high plains of north Texas and was raised by them until the age of 17 when he returned to his own people. On reuniting with his white family Thurber became reacquainted and fell in love with Noodle Rising Star his half Comanche half-sister. Thurber and Noodle have a baby on the way before they are told of their family history. Noodle banishes Thurber from their home and thus begins his wandering adventures that stretch from the searing flats of south Texas to the frozen mountains of western Montana. Along the way he meets noteworthy characters such as Kiowa Chiefs Satanta and Satank, the Bigfoot, Moses Rose, John Wesley Hardin, William T. Sherman, Johnny Ringo, George Custer, Billy Bonney, Seth Bullock, Theodore Roosevelt, the Man from Mars, George Patton, Pancho Villa and other equally colorful personalities. The story of Thurber Mingus is a reminder of a time we shall never see again. His was a time before "bob-wahr," gasoline pumps and television. His was a time before interstate highways began slicing up the land, a time when a man was free to roam the mountains and the prairies on the back of a good horse, in search of a love lost.