In the Shadow of Vargas

When William MacLeod, a member of an American fur trapping party, is forced into Spanish New Mexico to seek help for a wounded companion, he finds love and encounters a vengeance that will test his power to fulfill the promises he made. Maria de Cordero, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy hacienda owner, is promised in marriage to another, but she makes the fateful mistake of falling in love with the young American. When her secret visit to MacLeod's jail cell is discovered, the man who lustfully awaits their marriage, Miguel Griego, captain of the governor's own militia, seeks his revenge against this insult to his name. Can MacLeod find a way to escape, and save Maria from what her family believes is a fate worse than death.