Young Matthew O'Malley returns from a day of hunting to find his mother killed and his family farm in flames. He leaves for the plains of Kansas, determined to seek blood and revenge. Blood he finds, indeed. He joins an unusual band of men who want a quiet place where they can live and forget the war. But there is nothing quiet about Kansas just after the Civil War. Matthew and his new friends create the first Texas cattle drive, build a hotel, own a farm, teach school, and fight to death for what is theirs. Then Matt meets Lee. She can drive a stagecoach, shoot with either hand, and ride a wild horse. When Falcon Beck, Matt's blood enemy, swears to have Lee as his own, Matthew faces a test of courage and commitment that will determine whether he lives of dies.

Tom Austin is a Utah-based writer with roots in Kansas and Colorado. He prides himself on the ability to base his stories in the realm of true historical events, characters that historically existed, and correct topography. Tom is also a career police officer with twenty-six years of experience. He has been a deputy sheriff and undersheriff in Kansas, an undercover narcotics officer in Colorado, a criminal investigator in Utah, and chief of police in three different Utah communities. He is also a combat veteran, serving with the Third Marines in Vietnam.

The O'Malley Saga Western Series
Book One: THE BLOOD OATH
Book Two: THUNDER MOUNTAIN
Book Three: PAHGOSA