February 6, 1884 Nebraska Sandhills "Sam is the dynamite and Nate is the fuse. Those two cowboys work together like a couple of old spinster sisters." When Sam Rankin and Nate Hawkins left their homes in the Wyoming Territory in 1880, they had no idea that short trail drive would result in them being gone four long years with no return date. The two young men had met in 1879, and their friendship grew out of like interests-cowboying and fishing. Four years later, they were saddle partners and still best friends. They had ridden for outfits all over the West and had even trailed cattle north from Texas several times. Nate was the voice of reason. He managed the money and Sam's blond curls attracted the girls.

Both loved to dance, and they crashed many wedding dances for the free food that was readily available. By the spring of 1884, they were riding for an outfit in the Sandhills of Nebraska. They never dreamed that a girl, a meeting with the boss, and the bandana Nate had left behind four years earlier would lead them to a crossroad in their lives. Will the decisions they face change the course of their lives and their friendship in the process? Join Sam and Nate as they grow from young men to seasoned cowhands in a land where loyalty, integrity, and a man's word determine the direction of his life.