Nat Swanson stumbles upon the survivors of an Apache ambush. At first he decides it is not his battle, and continues on his way. However, he uses a field glass and sees a woman's face peeking out from behind the wagons in the canyon opening. He can't forget her face, so he returns to save her. Once he is there with the survivors, he finds out that it is not just a woman, but that there are three nuns and seven orphans that need to be saved.
Sister St Agnes is convinced that God sent Nat Swanson to save her, the other nuns and the orphans. Nat is positive that he was not sent by God and doesn't want to be responsible for the nuns and orphans. However, he is a good man, and he cannot let them die, so he has to figure out a way to save them all.
Typically a book takes me several days to read, however, I read this book in 2 days. I was really enthralled by the characters and wanted to know what happened next. In my opinion, it is a very good book!
Sister St Agnes is convinced that God sent Nat Swanson to save her, the other nuns and the orphans. Nat is positive that he was not sent by God and doesn't want to be responsible for the nuns and orphans. However, he is a good man, and he cannot let them die, so he has to figure out a way to save them all.
Typically a book takes me several days to read, however, I read this book in 2 days. I was really enthralled by the characters and wanted to know what happened next. In my opinion, it is a very good book!
Publishers Weekly
Communications executive Eidson turns from balance sheets to saddlebags in this lean first novel in the Western genre. Nat Swanson is on the run from a mob of Texas cowboys after having killed one of their friends. A bullet in his leg slows him down and threatens his life. The posse is closing in, and his chances of survival look dim. Trying desperately to get to sanctuary in California, he comes upon two freight wagons besieged by Apaches, and, against his better judgment, he stops to help. He kills one of the Indians with his grandfather's antique crossbow, buying time for whoever survives behind the wagons. Thinking he's done his good deed, he continues his flight. One of those trapped, however, is 76-year-old Sister Agnes, who prays to God for a man to deliver her, her fellow nuns and the seven orphans they are transporting. Once she utters her prayer, readers know that Swanson is the longed-for savior and that his path will cross theirs again. Eidson tells the tale of their subsequent salvation in taut, spare, visual prose reminiscent of Larry McMurtry, who in fact is writing the screenplay for the movie version, to be retitled The Standoff.
Communications executive Eidson turns from balance sheets to saddlebags in this lean first novel in the Western genre. Nat Swanson is on the run from a mob of Texas cowboys after having killed one of their friends. A bullet in his leg slows him down and threatens his life. The posse is closing in, and his chances of survival look dim. Trying desperately to get to sanctuary in California, he comes upon two freight wagons besieged by Apaches, and, against his better judgment, he stops to help. He kills one of the Indians with his grandfather's antique crossbow, buying time for whoever survives behind the wagons. Thinking he's done his good deed, he continues his flight. One of those trapped, however, is 76-year-old Sister Agnes, who prays to God for a man to deliver her, her fellow nuns and the seven orphans they are transporting. Once she utters her prayer, readers know that Swanson is the longed-for savior and that his path will cross theirs again. Eidson tells the tale of their subsequent salvation in taut, spare, visual prose reminiscent of Larry McMurtry, who in fact is writing the screenplay for the movie version, to be retitled The Standoff.
