Not again. It's taken Andy Maxwell two years-1908-1910-to recover from the vendetta that nearly killed his mother, burned their Sierra Nevada ranch house, and exhumed some family secrets-including that his father was black. At last Andy thinks he can return to the University of California to finish his PhD. Not so.First, the PhD. program doesn't want a miscegenated mongrel like him. Eminent San Francisco journalist, Ambrose Bierce agrees to help with that problem, but Michael Yellow Squirrel, who started all the trouble, is back and still wants eliminate every Maxwell on earth. No time for school now. Oh, and there's the election. Gubernatorial candidate Hiram Johnson wants Andy to run for the legislature to help foil the railroad barons.

Last, but far from least, there are the women-the debutant beauty and the Arapaho princess. Readers looking for adventure, suspense, and romance (and which readers aren't?) will find their search is over in The Second Vendetta.