A Desperate Stand...At age forty-two, Captain Ethan Brandish had finally given up his command of Fort Lowell, deep in the Apache territory of Arizona. He knew there had to be more to life than constantly battling rattlesnakes and renegades, and now he would find out what it was. But the vicious Apache leader Yellow Shirt had another fate in store for Brandish. He and a group of renegade warriors had attacked an isolated stage station and ridden off just before Brandish arrived on the scene. Even though he knew the Apaches were still out there – watching and waiting – Brandish couldn't leave the few wounded survivors to die. He had to do what he could . . . even if it meant dying when Yellow Shirt came back.