Determined to leave behind the dull values of her small hometown, an opera singer devotes increasing amounts of energy to developing her art.

Ambitious, but never seeming so, Kent Haruf reveals a whole community as he interweaves the stories of a pregnant high school girl, a lonely teacher, a pair of boys abandoned by their mother, and a couple of crusty bachelor farmers. From simple elements, Haruf achieves a novel of wisdom and grace--a narrative that builds in strength and feeling until, as in a choral chant, the voices in the book surround, transport, and lift the reader off the ground....

In a struggling Amish settlement on the harsh Colorado plain in 1914, Abbie Weaver fights for the life of the church she cherishes. But the loss the community feels most deeply is the lack of a minister. Visiting bishops have stopped coming--a mystery that demands explanation. Abbie's friend Willem is fiercely determined, and although Abbie loves Willem, his choices put a wedge between them. When Abbie discovers the root of the unspoken spiritual...

Having left the military, Dakota Jones is at a crossroads in his life. With his elder brother and youngest sister happily settled in Sullivan?s Crossing, he shows up hoping to clear his head before moving on to his next adventure. But, like every visitor to the Crossing, he?s immediately drawn to the down-to-earth people and the seemingly simple way of life. Dakota is unprepared for how quickly things get complicated. As a newcomer, he is on everyone?s...

"When a high-risk neurosurgery procedure results in the death of a teenager, Maggie Sullivan finds herself in the middle of a lawsuit. She knows she needs to slow down before she burns out completely, and the best place she can think to do that is Sullivan's Crossing, the land that now belongs to her eccentric father, Sully. But shortly after arriving, Maggie's world is rocked once again and she must take on more responsibility than she'd planned....

When a whitewater rafting accident occurs on the Arkansas River near Salida, Colorado, river ranger Mandy Tanner deftly executes a rescue, but a man dies anyway. Turns out, it wasn't the rapids that killed him--he was murdered.

Smoke Jensen-A One Man Judge and Jury They struck in a pack, in the dead of night. They had crept in like thieves, like the cowards they were . . . but it wasn't robbery they had in mind. It Was Something Much Darker . . . Smoke Jensen was buying cattle a hundred miles away from his Colorado ranch when he got the news. Drawing two horses from the remuda, he saddled up, rode off . . . and didn't stop until he reached his wife's side. She had been shot...

Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to her neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have long been aware of each other, if not exactly friends; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife. His daughter, Holly, lives hours away in Colorado Springs; her son, Gene, even farther away in Grand Junction. What Addie has come to ask -- since she and Louis have been living alone for so...

When Crazy Horse and Cadillac, two very different but inseparable horses, go missing from the Half Moon Ranch in Colorado, thirteen-year-old Kirstie tries to recover the stolen animals.