Chroniclers of the American West believe

French trappers were the first Europeans

to see North Park, the first to tromp

through its lush meadows and scale its

forested slopes in search of pelts, which

they found aplenty. It is in the midst of

this park, in the shadow of Deadman

Peak in the Rockies, that Gideon

Coopersmith founded the Double Circle

C Ranch. He lives there with his wife,

Maggs, their young daughter, Annie, and

Patrocino, the Mexican segundo. When a

young hired hand, possibly an escaped

convict, vanishes with Annie s pony,

Gideon goes after him. Arriving in sub-

zero temperatures in the former mining

town of Columbine, he is run off by the

man s mother, Ruth Logan, the cigar-

smoking owner of the Miner s Delight

Saloon. But later, when Gideon is left

unconscious in the snow, Ruth is the one

who saves his life. Giving up, Gideon

returns home in time to find that a vigi-

lante group is also searching for the

hired hand--apparently successfully,

since he is found lynched. This news

brings Ruth Logan on a mission of

vengeance, and, as the hangings continue,

leads Gideon to fear for the safety of his

entire family.