It's called the "Gettysburg of the West,", the battle for control of Glorieta Pass, near Santa Fe. At stake is a route to Colorado's gold and San Francisco's unblockadable sea coast, two goals that would give the Confederate States a vital edge. General H.H. Sibley's Texas Confederates are opposed by a Union army under Colonel E.R.S. Canby.

Before the war, Sibley and Candby were on the same side. Now there's just no winning in this bloody battle between countrymen torn apart by money, politics, and geography.

History will ignore the fate of Lieutenant Franklin of New York, Captain O'Brien of the Colorado Volunteers, Jamie Russell of San Antonio, and Miss Laura Howland, recently arrived from Boston. They will be utterly changed, however, in the cauldron of battle where the fate of Glorieta Pass--and hundreds of lives--is decided.