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

Jamieson nodded toward the red stone pipe when it came to rest in Cut’s lap. “Impressive piece of work.”


“Yes,” I agreed. “Like most things, it is symbolic to these people. The stem is male. The bowl, female. There is a healthy trade in this red stone, which comes from the east. This medicine pipe represents one of the tiospaye’streasures.”


The captain addressed his mission, reinforcing the army’s wish for friendship and warning we would see more patrols. Cut Hand translated the English words into his own language and then turned back to the officers, his glance lingering on the lieutenant for a moment. He accepted the captain’s words as true and said that like his father, he was a peace chief.


Chapter 74