on his way to California to seek his fortune in the burgeoning gold rush when a chance meeting with siblings Betsy and Shea O'Brian puts him on course to find a completely different kind of treasure-a fabled hoard of Spanish gold said to be lost in a place called the Valley of the Turtle Shirt Men. Although Jesse is skeptical of the gold's existence, he agrees to the mission, if only to protect his naïve new friends, who are clearly in way over their heads.

Having to cross into hostile Indian territory to reach the valley-and with a gang of outlaws waiting to ambush them if by some slim chance they manage to return home-- the quest will call upon every skill that Jesse gained as a Ranger and as an adopted captive raised by the Comanche. Even so, the price of the treasure may be nothing less than their lives.