"Eons past‚ an ancient creature the size of a bunk house lived out a solitary life and died all alone in a rugged‚ prehistoric canyon. Millennia later that canyon would occupy an isolated corner of C. L. McSween's Rocking S Ranch. It might have gone on for millennia future untouched if not for McSween's plan to dam the canyon up‚ to provide water for his cattle. Paleontology is a brand new science in 1877‚ and when Samuel Cobsworth‚ a paleontologist from back east‚ discovers the cache of bones from this long-dead Jurassic monster‚ he considers them a priceless treasure trove. C. L. McSween and his daughter Libby don't see it that way. They're concerned only about ensuring their cattle's survival during the next drought. On top of that‚ McSween is a superstitious ex-mountain man. He considers the bone digger a grave robber and wants him off his ranch! To Chad Larimer‚ foreman of the Rocking S Ranch‚ Cobsworth's discovery is nothing more than a bunch of old cow bones … until strangers from back east show up desperate to get their hands on them. Among the Easterners is the infamous paleontologist Professor O. C. Marsh. Marsh wants the bones for his museum and is prepared to have them at any cost. He's brought hired guns with him‚ and whoever gets between him and those bones is going to die. Unfortunately‚ Chad is the man in the middle. "
Author
Douglas Hirt was born in Illinois, but heeding Horace Greeley's admonition to "Go west, young man", he headed to New Mexico at eighteen. Doug earned a Bachelor's degree from the College of Santa Fe and a Masters of Science degree from Eastern New Mexico University. During this time he spent several summers living in a tent in the desert near Carlsbad, New Mexico, conducting biological baseline surveys for the Department of Energy. Doug drew heavily from this "desert life" when writing his first novel, DEVIL'S WIND. In 1991 Doug's novel, A PASSAGE OF SEASONS, won the Colorado Authors' League Top Hand Award. His 1998 book, BRANDISH, and 1999 DEADWOOD, were finalists for the SPUR award given by the Western Writers of America. A short story writer, and the author of twenty-nine novels and one book of non fiction, Doug now makes his home in Colorado Springs with his wife Kathy and their two children, Rebecca and Derick. When not writing or traveling to research his novels, Doug enjoys collecting and restoring old English sports cars. Douglas Hirt is a "fabricator of armchair adventures" who also writes as Jason Elder and Doug Hawkins.
