The grandson of a US senator has been brazenly kidnapped out of a hotel room in St. Louis. His life has been threatened if the senator cannot raise the ransom money, an exorbitant amount that even he can't scrape together. Ultimately, the boy's fate falls into the hands of a select group of undercover agents known for their discretion, cleverness, and bravery-the Pinkertons.
When Allan Pinkerton realizes the confidential nature of the kidnapping, he calls in his best field agents, a group of five professionals with specialized skills and unconventional backgrounds. The team is headed up by ex-Marine Captain John McKenzie. He is to be joined by beautiful and alluring actress and former spy during the Civil War, Alicia Faye; a clever magician and con artist, Harry Howser; a young but brilliant scientist, Jimmy Piper; and McKenzie's Marine friend and expert hand-to-hand combat fighter, Patrick Nelson.
With no clue as to whether or not the boy is still in Missouri or who the perpetrators might be, the detective team must comb the city of St. Louis in their quest for answers, including through the extensive dockyards of the shipping industry along the Mississippi River.
A young teenager named Red and the old prospector who raised him arrive in Baker's Gap, anxious to start a new life, having struck a glory hole of gold. Much to Red's horror, however, the prospector is gunned down in the street. Suddenly alone in a strange town, the boy is angry and distrustful, but fortunately Tom Harrison, the local sheriff, is willing to accept responsibility for his care if he can convince him to stay. A strong bond soon develops between the two, and in exchange for Red agreeing to attend school, the sheriff pledges to pass down all he knows about law enforcement.
The years pass, but nothing deters the boy from a stubborn conviction to spend his life tracking down outlaws like those who killed the man who raised him. When Harrison's Ranger friend, Al Thornton, shows up, both see an opportunity for Red to reach his goal. Red leaves Baker's Gap to become a Ranger under the tutelage of Thornton. At first somewhat skeptical of Red's abilities because of his age, Thornton and others at the camp come to accept him as one of their own because of his frontier skills and knowledge.
When Red and Thornton are sent on a routine mission to transport a prisoner, they find themselves embroiled in more conflict than they had counted on. Before the Rangers arrive, the outlaw breaks out of the fort jail with the help of his gang, and a seemingly routine job turns into a deadly manhunt. Eventually the outlaw and his gang head toward Baker's Gap. If the two Rangers cannot arrive in time it will surely spell disaster for the Sheriff Tom Harrison.
The first time the Donovan twins, Lucas and Jamie, saw a Canadian Northwest Mounted Police officer, they knew that's what they wanted to be when they grew up. Years later, Lucas Donovan, now a member of the force, is on a mission to bring a ruthless serial killer to justice. For years Jack Emerson has eluded capture in the vast Canadian wilderness, but now Donovan has vowed that nothing on earth will stop him from seeing this man caught and punished. The oath is both personal and professional, since one of the men Emerson killed ruthlessly was Constable Jamie Donovan, Lucas' twin brother.
Believing that he understands more about Emerson than any other man, but restricted by the policies of the force, Donovan is forced to take administrative leave to carry out his quest for revenge. Accompanied by Red, his enormous Malamute sled dog, Donovan begins his quest and crosses the border into the US. Aside from chasing a dangerous murderer, the long pursuit presents special dangers of its own as the two fight for survival in an unfamiliar and unfriendly country where nature takes a toll on all.
When the time finally comes for the two men to meet, Lucas Donovan must decide between personal and professional honor. When he became a Canadian Mounted Police Constable, Donovan took an oath to enforce and obey the law. However, the standards he has lived by are now in conflict with his burning desire for revenge. His decision on which course of action he will pursue could result in disgrace or death. But Donovan is led by the creed of the Canadian Northwest Mounted Police that a Mountie always gets his man.
Badger Kershaw was becoming a familiar figure on the frontier after the War between the States. Riding an Appaloosa with Lobo, his dog-wolf hybrid, often by his side, he was feared by most outlaws on the dodge on whom there was a bounty. It was not a savory profession, perhaps, but Kershaw was honest about what he did. Frontier lawmen for the most part were accustomed to dealing with Kershaw. When the fugitive was willing to surrender-which was less frequent than it might be thought-Kershaw would bring in an outlaw alive, but it was not an option he encountered very often. Generally it was one man against another, but in what would possibly be Badger Kershaw's greatest feat, the odds were quite different.Colonel Benjamin Grierson had been Kershaw's commanding officer during the War between the States. When, years after the war's end, Grierson's daughter was one of the four women seized in a train hold-up and taken prisoner, Grierson appealed again to the man who had once served under him to rescue the women from the outlaw gang. Kershaw surprised the army when he chose to do the job entirely alone, despite the incredible odds against him.
Retired US Army sergeant Thaddeus McCallum joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency, where he makes enough money to purchase the ranch he's always wanted.But just as McCallum begins to settle in to his new life, he receives an urgent letter from a former comrade in arms, whose son Jeff has gone missing. Despite his age and the aches and pains that go with it, Thad decides that he owes it to the man to help. Pedro Peralta, who ordinarily would be left behind to manage the ranch, insists on accompanying Thad on his journey.The men soon learn that Columbus, New Mexico, was the site of an attack by Pancho Villa and his army of revolutionaries, and young Jeff has been taken prisoner. As they pursue Jeff into the wastelands of northern Mexico, Thad and Pedro must overcome an entire army to save him.
Owen Burke is at loose ends in the Mexican town of San Rafael. While at the local cantina, he overhears a conversation between two Mexican vaqueros seated nearby and decides to introduce himself. The two men work for Don Enrique Hernandez de Allende at a horse ranch some distance south. The don is planning a horse drive to the north and then west to California, where the don’s brother-in-law has a ranch. Owen knows those trails and hopes the don, who has never made the trip before, might be in need of a guide.
As luck would have it, the don and his daughter, Rosa María, are impressed with Owen. The ramrod, a man named Chavez, is a tougher nut to crack. Suspicious of gringos in general, Chavez also resents the attention that Rosa María is inclined to pay Owen. When Owen is ambushed on the trail by bandits who later drive off the horses, Chavez blames Owen for guiding them into a trap and leads his riders after Owen to even the score. To be captured by Chavez and his vaqueros means death, so can Owen find the thieves and recover the horses?
Trail Hand is a taut, highly dramatic story of danger that is increasingly suspenseful and rich with sharply etched, unforgettable characters.
“Marvelous!”—Historical Novel Society
