Far from the world he knows, he’ll find a home. Among strangers, he’ll find acceptance. And in the arms of an unexpected man, he’ll find love. Young Billy Strobaw comes West to escape the stigma of his Tory family. In the Dakota Territories, he encounters the Yanube warrior Cut Hand. Billy’s attraction to the other man is as surprising as the Yanube perspective on same-sex love. Unlike Europeans, the Siouan tribe celebrates such unions. Billy and Cut Hand can live as partners and build a life together, which Billy agrees to do. As Billy struggles to acclimate to a very different culture, quickly discovering the Yanube have as much to teach him as he has to impart to them, a larger struggle is brewing. The white man is barreling through the Great Plains, trampling underfoot anyone who stands in his way. As a leader of his people, Cut Hand must decide whether it will be peace or war. In a historical romance taking place against the epic backdrop of the early American West, where a single spark can ignite a powder keg of greed, lust for power, and misunderstanding, one man must find his place in history and his role in the preservation of all he has come to value.

Cut Hand

“Yes,” Cut acknowledged sadly. “That is true.” He looked up at me. “I hope I did right, Billy! But he’s a friend.”


“That is so, Cut Hand, a childhood friend. But you have a responsibility to look at things as a leader, not a friend.” I hesitated as my mouth went dry. “You will be called upon to make more difficult decisions than this one. Perhaps you can begin to appreciate the burden your father bears. You can be guided by only one thing, my love, and that thing is not friendship or personal loyalty. It is deciding what is best for the tiospaye.” When I finished speaking, my words reverberated in my ears like a prophecy.


Cut sat quietly, looking suddenly diminished. “I know,” he whispered.


Chapter 34