"In 1879, the notorious horse thief Doc Middleton rules the Niobrara rough country west of Holt County, Nebraska, with a loose affiliation of young outlaws, dubbed the Pony Boys. Albert "Kid" Wade, August John, Windy Barnes, Boots Harper, and a dozen other amoral roughnecks spent their days stealing horses, raising hell, and generally having the time of their lives. But nothing lasts forever, and the unorganized territories west are succumbing to complaints from settlers and the Indian agencies alike. What happens to the Pony Boys when law and order lands hard-and ruthless-at the end of a rope? As Doc struggles with change, and Kid Wade fights white-knuckled against it, young Augustus "Gus" John faces the most important challenge of his life. A challengesure to tear at the fabrics of loyalty and friendship, rending the Pony Boys apart forever. A fictionalized account of Doc Middleton and the Pony Boys' decline during the historical summer of 1879, Richard Prosch weaves a tapestry of rough and tumble adventure laced with sentiment and introspec"—

By the autumn of 1883, the wild country west of Holt County was getting organized. Brown County was carved out of Holt and Long Pine precinct early in the year, and the railroad reached Stuart and Bassett and rolled on to Valentine. Telegraph lines ran between the cities, and newspapers—Lord, the newspapers!—were everywhere with their blaring headlines. Progress, every place you looked. But when Augustus "Gus" John is caught between the vigilantes of the new Niobrara Protection Association led by Cap Burnham and old loyalties to his friend, Albert Wade, newly released from jail and hellbent on vengeance, where will his loyalties lie? With a fictionalized account of old Nebraska's vigilante days and Kid Wade's brief reign as captain of the horse thieves, Richard Prosch brings historic characters to life in a blood-churning adventure filled with passion and self-contemplation.