Contents

Epigraph

Author’s Note

Prologue

Part One:

A Sprightly Boy and a Romping Girl

Chapter One           Home and Heart

Chapter Two          Mud and Merchandise

Chapter Three        Grass

Part Two:

The Barren Earth

Chapter Four            Dust

Chapter Five            Deception

Chapter Six              Salt, Sage, and Blood

Part Three:

The Meager by the Meager Were Devoured

Chapter Seven           Cold Calculations

Chapter Eight            Desperation

Chapter Nine             Christmas Feasts

Chapter Ten               The Heart on the Mountain

Chapter Eleven          Madness

Chapter Twelve         Hope and Despair

Photographic Insert

Chapter Thirteen        Heroes and Scoundrels

Part Four:

In the Reproof of Chance

Chapter Fourteen     Shattered Souls

Chapter Fifteen        Golden Hills, Black Oaks

Chapter Sixteen        Peace

Chapter Seventeen   In the Years Beyond

Epilogue

Appendix: The Donner Party Encampments

Acknowledgments

Chapter Notes

Sources

About the Author

Other Books by Daniel James Brown

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher