Scott Burton on the Range

The story follows a young man who leaves his New England home for the western range and takes up life among local ranchers and shepherds. He becomes acquainted with neighborhood rivalries and is drawn into tensions between cattlemen and sheepmen, facing theft, deception and a puzzling loss of thousands of sheep. A sequence of episodes, including a forest fire, intercepted messages, a secret conference and a manhunt, raises stakes and tests loyalties. A destructive storm damages a reservoir and the bursting of a dam triggers dramatic rescues and community action. Through investigation and straightforward courage he finds a home in the country and helps settle the conflicts that threaten it.