On the pivotal edge of the twentieth century, the beautiful and determined Ivey Rose Grady falls in love with the captain and owner of a steamboat. Things go horribly wrong; not at all as she had wished in her young innocent dreams. Into the story strides her younger brother, Jody Lee, a nearly perfect replica of his grandfather, Jack Grady, only bigger. The young man deals out his own very special brand of justice to those who would harm his beloved sister. The story moves from the Grady farm in the northeast corner of Tennessee to the Oklahoma Indian Territory before statehood. Jody makes a harrowing escape from his pursuers to the sanctuary of the western Cherokee Nation. Here, among the Cherokee, he finds refuge, friendship, and also the woman of his dreams. Meet this assorted cast of gamblers, farmers, killers, lawmen, ranchers, and other memorable characters from turn-of-the-century America. This powerful historical narrative, set against the perilous last western frontier, evokes romance, sorrow, defeat and violence, but also hope and renewal.
