Cold Cache: A Western Story

Champlin (The Blaze of Noon; Devil's Domain; etc.) explores a frontier feud in this fast-paced tale set in 1890 Missouri and New Mexico. After eight years as a Canadian Mountie, Kent Rasmussen is re-routed on his way home to Minnesota when a mysterious woman, Nellie Newburn, hires him to protect her and the $250,000 she is carrying from her estranged husband Johnny Clayton. Rasmussen finds himself enmeshed in a bitter feud between the Newburns and the Claytons and a hunt for $3 million-gold that Nellie's grandfather, a Confederate sympathizer, plans to use ""to finance the establishment of a new country."" Distrusted by both families, Rasmussen joins with an eccentric hermit to protect Nellie and recover the treasure. All parties converge on the high desert for a final showdown. Champlin brings the Old West to life with engaging characters, an inventive plot, and a genuine respect for disparate frontier cultures.