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

A visit to Caleb Brown brought an invitation to dine with the merchant. I accepted gratefully. Filling my day was already presenting a problem. Discerning circumstances were different from previous visits. Mr. Brown probed as to my intent. I shared my plans to the extent they existed.


Later that evening, I dropped by the inn’s saloon for a dram of spirits prior to retiring. Halfway through my libation, Captain Jamieson and the lieutenants Morrow and Smith appeared at my elbow and offered a drink.


Chapter 69