Joe Weaver, foreman of the Summerlin ranch in Colorado, thinks his biggest problem is keeping the cattle fed over the long, cold winter. He has never been more wrong. Being foreman for Mrs. Summerlin did have its advantages-he was earning wages while he courted Mrs. Summerlin’s attractive daughter, Emma. But when rustlers steal the ranch’s stock, they also take Emma’s brother, twelve-year-old Tommy, and Emma blames Joe for the kidnapping. Joe swears he will bring back Tommy and the missing stock, but he runs into more than he expects.

Several times, Joe believes he has reached the end of his endurance. He is captured by the rustlers and thrown into an abandoned mine shaft with a rattlesnake. His horse, Davey, is stolen and forced to work as a mule at a mining camp. But the final straw is when he finds Tommy chained to a hand-pump car. Joe had sworn to Emma that he would protect Tommy and bring him back safe and sound. That vow was going to be difficult to fulfill.

Earl G. Fisher is a successful businessman who owns a construction company in Prattville, Alabama. He received his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1996, with a major in English literature.

Mr. Fisher’s first book, The Man Hunter, was published by AVALON in 1994.

He has traveled extensively, living in Miami, Colorado Springs, Tampa, San Diego, Tallahassee, Beaufort, Newport, Durham and Quantico. He has also held a variety of jobs, including that of lifeguard, sheet metal mechanic, carpenter, telephone lineman, manager of a loan company, firefighter, emergency medical technician, dairy farm foreman, film technician, and life insurance salesman.

His extensive traveling and diversified work history have enabled Mr. Fisher to write about a variety of experiences and to create unique characters which he brings to life.