"A completely engaging tale following a handful of remarkable settlers."--"Entertainment Weekly" "Lively. . . . Vivid characters. . . . Enthralling reading."--"The Miami Herald" "Compelling. . . . That Vida brings so much fresh energy to the timeworn Western genre--complex characters, engaging stories, cutting-edge historical revisionism--is no small feat."--"Austin American-Statesman" "An imaginative and thoroughly researched tale driven by intriguing characters."--"Denver Post" "Should be placed on the same shelf with "Lonesome Dove," "Texas," and "Pale Horse, Pale Rider.""--"The Monitor" (Texas) When cholera strikes San Antonio in 1843, Aurelia Ruiz discovers that she might have the power to heal--and also to curse. Meanwhile, Joseph Kimmel, a schoolteacher in Missouri and the son of a Polish Jew, learns of his brother's death in San Antonio and sets off for Texas. On his way, a runaway slave steals his horse. After being rescued by Henry Castro, a man who is importing immigrants to populate his planned city, Castroville, Joseph agrees to marry a young Alsatian girl to save her from a Comanche chief who has demanded her. Then Joseph encounters Aurelia and becomes enamored with her. Comanches, Tonkaways, Mexican "vaqueros," immigrant farmers, and runaway slaves all play a part in Joseph's rebirth as a rancher, but when a renegade band of Texas Rangers descends upon the ranch, everything changes. Nina Vida is the author of six previous novels: "Scam," "Return from Darkness," "Maximillian's Garden," "Goodbye Saigon," "Between Sisters," and "The End of Marriage." She lives with her husband in Huntington Beach, California. "From the Trade Paperback edition."