The Last River

For Caleb Thomason and his beautiful half-breed wife, Sparrow, violence seems to follow wherever they go. Seeking to establish a home in the wild cow town of Dodge City, their peace is shattered when Sparrow is kidnapped and held for ransom while Caleb is away. She is held captive in the kidnappers' hideaway in No Man's Land, the strip of wilderness between the Cimarron and Canadian Rivers. A rescue is attempted by Dodge City citizens, Dr. Thomas McCarty and Doc Holliday. After a violent and deadly shootout, kidnapper Buck Hester avoids capture and continues to threaten Sparrow's life. Determined to find his wife, Caleb traverses the uninhabited plains of No Man's Land in search for her. His breath-taking rescue of Sparrow is successful, but their peace proves short-lived. Relocating to the Texas panhandle town of Mobeetie, trouble is not far behind. After escaping from prison, Buck Hester again poses a threat to the Thomason's idyllic new home. Caleb and Sparrow must fight for their lives in the climatic end to the novel. The Last River is the sequel to Loy's first novel, Beyond Double Mountain.