"An instant classic. . . a truly beautiful piece of American storytelling." --William Kittredge, author of Owning It All

A widowed homesteader is determined to make a life in the unforgiving mountains of late 19th century Oregon in this "powerful novel of struggle and loss." (Dallas Morning News)

Acclaimed author Molly Gloss drew on pioneer diaries and old family stories to write this modern Western classic of a solitary woman's frontier life. In the 1890s, Lydia Bennett Sanderson, a hardship-honed widow, leaves her old life behind and journey's to Jump-Off Creek to make her way as a homesteader in the backcountry of Oregon. Her neighbors are few and far between: Tim Whiteaker and Blue Odell are trying to make a go of it on their small hardscrabble ranch, while Evelyn Walker - a young, lonely wife - is rearing her children in daunting isolation. And a trio of rootless cowboys are squatting in the mountains, their only income the bounty from poisoned wolves. While Lydia toils into the summer, building fences, digging ditches, and repairing her homestead cabin, Tim and Blue engage in a deadly spoilers game with the wolvers. As the months pass, there is good and ill fortune, the exchange of fair-and-square favors, and Lydia finds both courage and community in her determination to survive.

An unforgettable tale in which "every gritty line of the story rings true" (Seattle Times), Gloss delivers an authentic and moving portrait of the American West.