When young John Hare arrives in the Utah territory, his health is shattered and his future uncertain. Taken in by the stern but just Mormon pioneer August Naab, Hare is drawn into a world of stark desert beauty, tribal loyalties, and simmering conflicts. At the heart of it stands Mescal, a proud half-Navajo woman betrothed against her will, and the ruthless Holderness, who will stop at nothing to seize the valley’s water and power. Forced to choose between the safety of the Mormon community and the call of his own conscience, Hare must reckon with his own frailties and discover the courage to forge his own destiny. This faithful modern retelling captures all the drama, danger, and moral complexity of Zane Grey’s classic western. Part of Timeless Classics.
