** spoiler alert ** I am a Louis L’Amour fanatic. My father introduced me to him when I was about 14 and was instantly hooked, the way his stories are told makes all other books seem boring and lifeless. I read every L’Amour book I can find since then and this is a classic; it’s filled with all the suspense, action, and adventure that you can expect from a normal western, along with just the right amount of romance. While you read this book there is never a dull moment: you will be on the edge of you seat the entire time. As is traditional in western books this one is easy and enjoyable to read. The main character, Nolan Sackett, thinks he can make some quick cash by guiding some tenderfoots out west, but once he begins the journey he realizes he has been suckered into a deadly race to find some long lost stolen gold. All his senses tell him to get cut his losses and leave, but between the thought of gold and a girl he is dragged into the race. The character of Nolan Sackett is everything a Sackett should be: strong, hard and made from the toughest stuff. Nolan is a Clinch Mountain Sackett that has never been on the right side of the law, but when an innocent girl and an injured old man need help finding the gold that is rightfully theirs, he doesn’t give it a second thought. The villains were also something I had never encountered before in other novels: truly cold blooded killers. Sylvie and her brothers killed for no good reason, other than the fact that they could get away with it. I really enjoyed this because it was completely different than normal western outlaws who still have a sense of honor and respect when they fight. The only reason I would not give this book five stars is that I felt the character of the Penelope was a little boring. While it was a nice change to have a strong women character in it, but I felt that she wasn’t brought to life the way most of L’Amour’s characters are. Other than that I thought the book was superb; the adventure was unique and well told, and the ending was as it should be: the good guy gets the gold and the girl and then rides off into the sunset. This would be a good read for any fan of westerns; however there are other Louis L’Amour books that I have enjoyed more than this one.