Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park, 1900

The Northern Pacific Railroad is offering to sell its Lake Hotel in Yellowstone Park. Two parties wish to purchase it. Chicago banker Forrest Fielding is backing Hank Falls, the present manager. His rival is Cord Sutton, half owner of the Excalibur Hotel in Salt Lake City. Fielding and Falls are presently in Yellowstone; Sutton is on his way. So, too, is Fielding's daughter Laura.

In an uncharacteristic moment of rebellion, Laura Fielding changed her travel plans from the safe journey by train to the more exciting one of stagecoach, dressed as a boy. It turns out very exciting -- and frightening. As she, the lone passenger, watches from behind a bush, two masked men kill the driver and ransack her belongings. Suddenly, another man creeps up on her, a savior as it turns out. The outlaws see her tracks and a battle ensues. One of the villains is killed, the other gets away. The two survivors could go back to Jackson's Hole, but both are in a hurry to get to Yellowstone. So begins a dangerous three-day trek on horse and on foot for Laura Fielding and Cord Sutton. Cord realizes almost immediately that his traveling companion is female, but doesn't let on right away. Though they don't tell each other who they are or their station in life, as they face the trials of their journey, they learn what each other is made of.

Laura took over the running of her father's house at ten after the death of her mother. Once grown, she would have liked to work in the bank, but her father keeps trying to marry her off to another of a long line of promising men instead. Hank Falls is his latest candidate. Throughout the novel, flashbacks of Cord's life show us his moving history. I won't give it away, but the fact that he is one-quarter Nez Perce Indian plays a large part in the plot of LAKE OF FIRE. As you might guess, the conflicts both he and Laura must overcome are internal as well as external.

LAKE OF FIRE is a vastly rich and riveting novel set in the country's first national park. Linda Jacobs uses her familiarity with the setting to its full advantage to show the courage of her protagonists. The park could almost be called the third leading player in the drama that unfolds within and around it. Others of note are Laura's father; her cousin Constance; Cord's Nez Perce uncle, Bitter Waters; Hank Falls and his brother and sister; and various railroad and military personnel, especially the bigoted interim park commander.

Full of emotion and intrigue, rivalry, greed and the beginnings of love amid natural splendors, LAKE OF FIRE is an exceptional reading experience. Previous (award-winning) books in the series set in more modern times are SUMMER OF FIRE and RAIN OF FIRE. Anyone who has thrilled to the wonders of Yellowstone should be especially interested in Linda Jacobs's colorful, well researched novels.

Jane Bowers