So Wide the Sky

In 1867, at the U.S. Army outpost at Fort Carr, three lives fragmented by the discord between whites and Indians, become inextricably linked. Years before, the young lovers, Cassandra Morgan and Drew Reynolds, lost their families in a wagon train massacre. Cassandra was captured and during her nine years of captivity acquired the name Sweet Grass Woman, and a distinctive tattoo on her face. Drew buried survivor's guilt beneath hatred and became an army captain bent on revenge. Traded back by the Cheyenne, Cassandra finds she is stigmatized by her past and though Drew marries her, he too is tormented by her past. Half-breed scout Lone Hunter Jalbert befriends her and opens his heart. Grayson's narrative is uneven with some intrusive sentimentality and poor similes (Indians ""scattered in all directions like a good break on a billiard table.""), yet her portrayal of stigma, courage and compassion in a hostile setting (both white and Indian) is memorable. (Mar.)