Three dead companions.A hostile country. A forbidden love.In the Spanish land of Nuevo Mexico, William MacLeod finds himself torn between leaving this country who wants him imprisoned and sent to a firing squad in Mexico or searching for the women he loves. But with Miguel Griego, the man humiliated by the woman's rejection and his band of hired followers chasing him, MacLeod rides deep into Indian territory to discover whether she still lives.His journey takes him across a burning and hostile land, toward a grove of trees on a wandering river, where a rumor is whispered that a beautiful woman will be sold to the highest bidder. But MacLeod knows he is not the only one to follow the rumor.Who will reach this place first or will they both finally come face to face with the woman the prize for the survivor. You must read In the Shadow of Vargas, the first book in The MacLeod Family Saga, to discover whether she is the woman he seeks, or just another rumor carried on the winds of hope.