Little Britches becomes the "man" in his family after his father's early death, taking on the concomitant responsibilities as well as opportunities. During the summer of his twelfth year he works on a cattle ranch in the shadow of Pike's Peak, earning a dollar a day. Little Britches is tested against seasoned cowboys on the range and in the corral. He drives cattle through a dust storm, eats his weight in flapjacks, and falls in love with a blue outlaw...

The Coopers become involved in a murder mystery that finds them caught between the present and the past, following clues that are carved in the stone cliffs around a ghost town.

In the rugged landscape of early frontier Texas, fourteen-year-old Travis is faced with taking over his family's farm and making a painful, important decision.

Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, is framed for the murder of a chicken and becomes an outlaw with the coyotes.

In 1890 Washington the only family Joseph Johnson has left is his half-wild Indian pony, Sarah, so when she is sold by a man who has no right to do so, he sets out to get her back--and he plans to let nothing stop him in his quest.

In 1860, a somewhat simple-minded fifteen-year-old boy attempts to herd one thousand turkeys from Missouri to Denver, Colorado, in hopes of selling them at a profit.

In 1871 Joshua Loper, a sixteen-year-old black cowboy, records in his journal his experiences while making his first cattle drive under an unsympathetic trail boss.

Joined by Hiram the farmhand, Katie begins the journey west. At first, she is unsure if the Mustang will follow, but much to her relief, he seems to trust her. Soon, Katie and Hiram meet up with a large family who invite them to join their caravan. For the first time, it seems as though they might really make it to Oregon. But then tragedy strikes, and Katie finds herself having to choose between parting ways with Hiram, or abandoning her dreams of...

Katie continues the journey west in the company of a traveling circus troupe.

In nineteenth-century Nevada, Nathan watches an exodus of people from his dying town and has an adventure involving bank robbers.