First published 1994
Curt Marder has lost everything that mattered. Outlaws have taken his farm, his wife, and even his dog. This gambler and cheat faces a choice: accept his losses or fight to reclaim what belongs to him. Marder chooses to fight, but he needs help. He finds Bubba, the territory's finest tracker, a black man whose skills surpass anyone else's. Their unlikely partnership grows into a trio when Jake, a determined child, insists on joining their pursuit. The three cross empty prairie lands, encountering Indians, settlers, and soldiers along the way. Marder hoped to stay unnoticed, but trouble finds them repeatedly. They clash with a corrupt preacher, a bold prostitute, and even General Custer caught in his nightgown. Marder's cowardice would have killed him multiple times without Bubba's reluctant courage saving the day. Yet Marder remains blind to the deeper truths about his companion, even after their final confrontation reveals that Bubba's abilities extend far beyond reading tracks in the dirt.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unlikely-partners
Setting: Prairie, Territory
Period: 19th-Century
219 pages · Hardcover · Faber & Faber