Entrenched on a poorly sheltered island, many of Seamus Donegan's crack squad of Army scouts lie dead...and many more are dying. Led by Major George Forsyth, fifty seasoned plainsmen had combed the Colorado Territory in search of Cheyenne. Along a fork of the Republican River, these brave men suddenly found themselves outnumbered twenty to one. Now Donegan, his fellow scouts, and his long-lost uncle are under attack. As the battle rages, Donegan is stalked by a traitor who seeks revenge for old wrongs. Together the dwindling band awaits a heroic last-minute rescue from the merciless nine-day siege—known today as the Battle of Beecher Island.