Less romantic than a Zane Grey novel, this tells the story of the early days of settlement around Tucson, Arizona. Some historical figures such as Cochise, the Apache chief do show up in the narrative. One historical incident where Cochise was enticed to come to Tucson for a peace conference by an army officer and then jailed from which he escaped but his two comrades were later hung is included in the story. However, the officer's name is changed in the novel.
While this is criticized in the story, it is not because this was immoral but rather because it would anger the Apaches and result in more killing of innocent people. The Mexican locals and natives are not treated very well either in the story or the author's biases.
The plot in brief concerns Tennessee Bob, a young frontiersman who is fair and strong, friendly with the natives and Mexicans who is hired to provide safe travel for the first runs of the Butterfield stage company from California to Arizona. He meets Anne Pritchard falling in love while trying to make Tucson into a safe community, protecting the stages from robbers and Apaches and winning Anne from rivals. ( )