Outskirts Press, INC.

A Story of the lost ‘rights of passage’ into manhood.

Forced into retirement from lifelong service in the army, Colonel John Milner is faced with an uncertain schedule for the first time in his life. Does he pursue his lifelong dream of purchasing a quaint fishing cabin, or does he entertain the sudden unexpected opportunity of providing guidance to several children who have lost their fathers to the Iraq war? The colonel’s dilemma is answered, and he soon finds himself in the rolling foothills of the Tetons with access to prime fly-fishing along the Salt River. Wyoming suits the colonel as he settles into his newly found retirement. Together with his trusted army sergeant “Dutch” and ranch owner Mike, the three men begin the process of mentoring six boys who have lost their fathers during the war in Iraq. Days of riding like a cowboy, shooting, and fishing begin to take hold of the inhabitants of Cutthroat Ranch. However, dark storms lie in wait as unfinished business from the war finds its way home to the colonel. Two cultures previously thrown together in the chaos of war, then separated by oceans, are about to collide in the Star Valley of Wyoming. Destiny has come for the inhabitants of Cutthroat Ranch, and nothing is going to stop it.