The Big Sky begins A. B. Guthrie, Jr.'s epic western saga that spans over a hundred years in the course of six novels. We are introduced to Boone Caudill, who travels the Missouri River from St. Louis to the Rockies, leaving his abusive father to find a life of freedom in the wild. Along the way he gains the friendship of Jim Deakins and Dick Summers, men who share his dream of a life of trapping and exploring. Caudill also wins the love of a beautiful Blackfoot princess, a woman willing to love him despite his wild ways. Their lives become forever entwined through adventure, travel, and eventually betrayal. Caudill finds that freedom comes at a price—one higher than he ever could have imagined.