Wandering from town to town, only five years after the end of the Civil War, the grizzled former Confederate Army officer, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, travels the dusty and dangerous roads of 1870 Texas to make a living. For the price of a dime, gentle Kyle, dressed in his impeccable suit, informs and entertains the people, reading the latest news and recounting captivating stories of exotic, far-off places from his pile of newspapers, knowing, however, that some wounds never heal. Then, on one of his travels, the irresistible storyteller comes across the gruesome scene of a murder, and encounters the abducted ten-year-old orphan, Johanna: now, the proud daughter of the Kiowa nomadic warriors, Turning Water and Three Spotted. To reunite the savage girl with her only surviving kin, patient Jefferson is willing to brave the perils of the long journey back and risk life and limb for twice-orphaned Johanna. But, amid harsh territories once divided by war, what will it take to find this orphan a home?—Nick Riganas