The Big Dry

In this standalone sequel to The Big Drift—winner of five awards including the Spur Award of Western Writers of America—Patrick Dearen explores race relations against the backdrop of The Big Dry, a devastating drought in the 1880s in Texas. Zeke Boles, a black cowhand, awaits hanging in North Texas for a murder he didn’t commit. His white friend Will Brite, with whom he rode in the Big Drift blizzard, has exhausted virtually all avenues to get Zeke exonerated. Will’s only hope is to set out for the faraway Devils River to find the actual culprit, a man with a missing finger.