The year is 1904. Retired federal marshal Travis Britt’s youngest son, Reid, has completed law school and has married Chipeta, a beautiful Indian girl. But a dangerous mingling of lies, crime, and secrets bring dark clouds over the family. Chipeta struggles with acceptance among the people in Reid’s hometown and with her own identity. But Reid can’t help her. He is called by God to serve justice and now struggles for his own survival in the dangerous world of organized crime. Knowing the entire family could be in danger, Travis prays fervently for their safety and holds the secret that could help Chipeta. But before he can tell her, she disappears. One friend leads Reid to believe a lie while another friend turns to crime and abandons his children. The only people that can offer Reid the truth are his wife and his father. But now Reid’s father is gone too. But God is working in their lives and speaks to save lives and relationships.
The setting is the early 1900s but the book addresses social topics relative to today while relying on scripture for guidance. Each page deals with love, faith, and danger while the emotions of love, jealousy, anger, distrust, fear and pain are easy to visualize. Full of scripture, this book answers the questions: Is it possible for God to talk to and advise people? Are our prayers answered? And, can a man risk it all to serve God faithfully?
Twists and turns throughout the book draw the reader in and cause the reader to want to read more. Reid and Chipeta want to begin their marriage the right way, but secrets and lies they tell themselves cause problems. The couple learns to communicate and follow God.
That afternoon Reid stood before the dean and the disciplinary board. He wasn’t answering their questions, and they were quickly getting frustrated with this disrespectful and violent student.
It was six weeks to the end of the term, and they were openly discussing what to do with this young man. He had been a model student until now. Always well prepared, studious, respectful, and courteous. His grades were outstanding. But there was no place for this kind of behavior at their institution.
“Well,” the dean said, “if you’re not going to answer our questions, what do you have to say for yourself? You should defend your own actions. That’s what you’ve been trained to do."
Reid replied, “I don’t regret what I did. ‘God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.’” (Ecclesiastes 3:17)
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. The dean’s assistant opened the door from the outside to introduce Agent Don Prather of the Department of Justice. Prather stepped into the room.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I understand you have a problem,” Agent Prather said, looking at the board and then at Reid, who stood tall before the men. Unashamed, the law student was ready for whatever punishment they wanted to give him.
“You do realize that you have standing before you the son of one of the great men of the Justice Department?” Prather said.
Reid looked at the agent. Why was he here? What did he want?
The dean spoke. “Agent, we are in the middle of a disciplinary meeting. It really doesn’t matter whose son this is.”
Agent Prather smiled and continued, “This is a young man who comes from a family with a fine tradition of law and justice. A young man who, as a university student, served justice well in assisting with the capture of several members of an organized crime ring. I don’t believe it would serve the school’s good name to discipline him too severely. I don’t believe his family—very influential, by the way—would appreciate it either. Why don’t you gentlemen take a few minutes to discuss your discipline among yourselves. I would like to speak to Mr. Britt alone. May we use this room?” Prather raised his hand to indicate a door to the side.
Without waiting for an answer, Prather opened the door and looked at Reid. “Come on, son.”
The board sat in astonishment as to what had just happened. A total stranger had walked in and taken the student from them. They looked at each other for a moment, then the dean said, “Well, what are we going to do with him? Do you know who his father is?”
The disciplinary board had finished their discussion and sat waiting for Agent Prather and Reid Britt to return. They were impatient busy men with much to do and ready to go home for the day. Hours passed before the door opened again. Reid walked back into the room with the same solemn look on his face that he had when he had left a few hours earlier. He stepped to the same spot he had stood previously and turned to face the board, saying nothing.
Agent Prather moved to stand beside Reid and smiled a knowing smile. “I’d be careful what you do to this young man. Your actions could turn around to bite you.” Prather left the room.