The Adventure and Romance of America, her people, her spirit and the West. This is our story. Fifth of thirty-three books of the <em>Threads West, An American Saga</em> series--compared by reviewers, authors and readers to <em>Lonesome Dove</em>, <em>Centennial</em>, Louis L'Amour (with steam) and called by some the "<em>Gone with the Wind</em> of the West" and "more authentic than <em>Dances with Wolves</em>". The multiple #1 bestselling series-winner of fifteen National Awards, (including Best Historical Fiction, Best Romance, and Best Western)-bursts with the adventure, romance and promise of historical America and the West._x000D_<br><br> In the spring of 1854, America is on the cusp of her great westward expansion, reluctantly on the threshold of becoming a world power. St. Louis, gateway to the frontier, booms with an eight-fold population expansion from just a decade prior. _x000D_<br><br> One Thousand miles to the west is the lawless, untamed spine of the continent, the Rocky Mountains. The power of their jagged peaks, rugged territories and vast resources beckon the souls of a few adventurous men and women, destined to love and struggle in the vibrant but unforgiving landscape of the West. _x000D_<br><br> In Book One, <em>Threads West,</em> America draws individuals and families from all corners of the earth with the promise of land, freedom, self-determination and economic opportunity. Immigrants exchange the lives they know for the hope and romance of a country embarked on the course of greatness. _x000D_<br><br> The revolt of Texas against Mexico, with the surreptitious aid of the United States, has resulted in vast new American terrain-unexplored western lands stretching from the Rio Grande to the Pacific, and north to the areas later to become the Kansas Territories and eventually, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming-magnetic draws for the restless and ambitious, and those in search of freedom and future. _x000D_<br><br> The brave, passion-filled characters of Threads West; Book Two, <em>Maps of Fate</em>; Book Three, <em>Uncompahgre</em>; and Book Four, <em>Moccasin Tracks</em>, struggle with internal and external conflicts as they try to establish life in this unknown wilderness. They are swept unknowingly into the tumultuous vortex of momentous changes shaping the United States and the West between 1855 and 1875, the years ensconced in the Maps of Fate Era, novels of the series. Secret maps, hidden ambitions, and magnetic attractions inherent in lives forged by the conflicting fires of love and loss, hope and sorrow, life and death, shape their futures and the destinies of their lineage. The dark stain on the pages of American History known as the "Indian Solution" begins to manifest. Love, passions and jealousy erupt, threatening the fabric of unity between some of the diverse and complex characters. _x000D_<br><br> In Book Five, <em>Footsteps</em>, the offspring of the vanguard of Threads West characters are coming of age. America is in transition, the lives of these brave men and independent women and the maturing first American generation shaken by events they cannot foresee. Spurred by a lust for gold, land, and the conquest of Mexican territory, the westward migration accelerates. Opposing stands on slavery create bitter rifts between friends. The Sioux begin to cope with dreadful realization that most white men respect neither their lands nor their Indian culture, and desperately seek some means to save their traditions and secure the safety of their children. On the front range of the Rockies, newly spawned Denver City - built on the banks of Cherry Creek - booms with the impact of gold discovered in the Pikes Peak area and the Ouray, San Juan and Uncompahgre mountain ranges. The Civil War erupts, and the flames of deadly tumult sweep west. Some of those manacled by the chains of slavery who have set their life sails to the winds of freedom become ardent defenders of the Republic. The remote fring