Two friends committed to one another and their destiny of exploring the wilderness known as French Louisiana. A land that would soon become the Louisiana Purchase and a part of the growing nation of the United Colonies. But another man, wealthy, influential, and vindictive, is determined to see Gabriel Stonecroft pay the ultimate price for the death of his son, a ne'er-do-well troublemaker who surrendered his life in a duel with Stonecroft. After a perilous journey down the Ohio River aboard a flatboat, the two friends now set out to explore the West.  

Louisiana Territory had been the exclusive domain of Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, seeking to fill their larders with the riches of the uncharted wilderness. But into that territory came two friends, determined to explore and learn about this vast land, land that had seldom if ever had the footprint of a White man. With their journey already taking them through the lands of the Shawnee, Osage, Pawnee, Omaha, and more, they have finally come within sight of the Rocky Mountains, but their way is blocked by the Plains tribes of Arapaho, Ute, Shoshoni, Crow, and others.

It started as a brother defending the honor of his only sister, but it led to a bloody duel and a young man of a prominent family lying dead in the dirt.... Gabriel Stonecroft, along with his lifelong friend Ezra, the son of the pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal church, at his side, begins the journey to the far wilderness of the West. One man from prominent social standing, the other with a life of practical experience, are soon joined in life-building adventures.  

In the spring of 1832, Zach Connors and his family have survived another winter in the Rocky Mountains. It was a winter without the supplies they usually enjoyed. In 1828, William Reed built a trading post on the Uintah River, just over the mountains from Zach’s home on Blacks Fork. Reed received supplies from Santa Fe each spring and fall, making his trading post the best source of supplies west of the great divide.

Zach Connors, known as Grizzly Killer, travels with his family through the rugged and mysterious canyons where the Anasazi once built their homes high on the cliffs. The year is 1833, and they are going to Taos for the supplies they will need for another year living in the Rocky Mountains. Before reaching the Taos Valley, they face dangers from the unforgiving and rugged land, and they must cross the mighty Colorado, Green, and San Juan Rivers.