Third book in the Ellis River trilogy from the award-winning author of Ellis River and Zephyr Trails.

In the early autumn of 1866, sixteen-year-old Ellis Cady leaves a wagon train to follow the old Pony Express trail, hoping to reach California before winter sets in over the Sierra Nevada. 

Since the Civil War’s end, western migration surges like a river from its source. News travels by local rail, telegraph, and stagecoach, but a transcontinental railroad promises to shrink the country. From the saddle of her steadfast horse, Ellis hopes to experience the wilds before they can be tamed. But she fears the effects of expansion on a country still finding its identity and a pristine land already feeling the sting of progress. 

In a precarious race with Mother Nature, Ellis learns what she can from an old mountain man, an Irish-born station-keeper, a Nez Perce friend, and the emigrants and settlers along the way. But the haunting land teaches the noblest lessons, challenging Ellis to come of age in a landscape of defeat and resilience.

Is it someplace she’s looking for, or someone? Can a wandering heart, healing from loss, ever find home?