Progress brings pay. Trouble collects the debt.

Uzziah O'Bannon and Immanuel Jones sign on with the Union Pacific, chasing a fresh grubstake as the railroad cuts west. In Hell on Wheels, Immanuel earns a place as Thomas Durant's bodyguard, and soon both mountain men are pulled into the dangers surrounding the rails. A trip to Washington brings Uzziah back to his family-and back to Immanuel, who is struggling more than he lets on. By the time they return west, they're not alone. A boy named Chadwick has followed them into a life he doesn't understand.

At Dale Creek Crossing, the boy's recklessness nearly gets Immanuel killed, and the cost of staying grows too high.

They leave the railroad behind and take Chadwick to the settlement, but trouble follows. When illness forces a journey south, the mountain men ride for New Mexico, rescuing settlers and crossing paths with the Apache. Along the way, Chadwick faces choices of his own-mercy, loyalty, and consequences that don't fade. In Taos, his actions stir up deadly trouble, and an old debt pulls the men into one more fight they didn't ask for.

When it's over, the trail ahead looks different. Uzziah and Immanuel must decide if the life they know still has room for the one following behind.

This two-book bundle includes the twenty-third and twenty-fourth novels in the Uzziah Mountain Man series.