Will Rogers Silver Medallion Award Winner - 2016 She was smart, she was beautiful, with no more than a nodding acquaintance with the truth. But was she worth dying for? There were plenty of things hardened ex-cavalryman Neil Bancroft would rather do than hire out to escort the conniving Katie Burke across the prairies of Wyoming and into the rough mining towns of Dakota. It was clear the woman was poison, but he needed the money. In 1881 things were settling down with the Sioux, but Neil knew the dangers from the bands of young braves who sneaked off the reservation looking for adventure. He figured it shouldn’t take more than a few days to get from Fort Fetterman to Custer City, where he could be rid of her. He soon realized, though, there were things he hadn’t allowed for, like being shot, nearly getting hanged, encountering thieves and murderers-not to mention falling in love. Dakota Trails is a fast-paced, thrilling, and sometimes comic tale that delivers the reader into the heart of the American West. It captures with intimate detail the hardships and pleasures of day-to-day life in a harsh, untamed, yet beautiful land.