Scott Burton on the Range

An Eastern tenderfoot in a land that eats boys whole. Scott Burton arrives in the Arizona Territory with stars in his eyes and a Forest Service badge on his chest, eager to tame a wilderness he's only read about in books. The reality is harsher: local sheepmen see him as a threat to their ancient ways, seasoned rangers whisper that corruption is cheaper than courage, and the red rock canyons offer no mercy to anyone who shows weakness. When Scott acquires Jed, a horse so wild no one else can ride him, he gains something more than a mount - he gains a mirror for his own stubborn refusal to be broken. The sheep wars are coming, and the men who run this range have bankrupted or beaten every patrolman who came before him. Cheyney writes with the grit of someone who knew these mountains firsthand, and his novel captures something essential about the American frontier: it was never about conquering the land, but about seeing who could outlast it.