Orphaned at the age of seven and adopted by Indians, Jamie Ian MacCallister grew into a man more at ease in the wilderness than among men. But when the westward strike drove him across the Arkansas Territory into Texas, he finally found himself at home -- in the middle of a bloody war. Texans like Jim Bowie and Sam Houston were waging a fierce struggle against Santa Anna's Mexican army, and Jamie made the perfect scout for the fledgling volunteer...

Fort Kearney, Nebraska, is the gateway to the west for a new breed of pioneers. Civil War veterans and widows, card sharps and Indian agents, and drifters. They arrive every day hoping to forge their destiny. Colonel Henry B. Carrington of the U.S. Calvary is assigned the unenviable task of securing a trio of forts in the dangerous Dakota Territory. At his command is a rising young officer Mark Reynolds and his spirited bride Rose, who longs for danger...