1882. The South Pacific Railroad is laying tracks for a new line through the heart of West Texas. Tent towns full of hungry rail workers have sprung up overnight and some land owners--like the wealthy Murphy clan--are using the opportunity to get even richer. Some families, however, are different. The cattle-ranching Hammersmiths have been working their piece of land for a generation. Texas is more than a business venture to them--it's their home. A tight-knit clan of independent ranchers, they've worked much too hard to surrender their land to the railroad--or the greedy, corrupt men it attracts. But once they allow the rail workers to use their water from the back forty, the real battles begin... This is the story of a new world emerging from the Old West--and one proud family determined to make the American Dream their own, come hell or high water...
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