This is an exceptionally fine collection of ten tales. The author, who lives on a remote ranch in Montana, has a love of the wilderness, and a knack for portraying the wild aspects of human nature. These two themes are enfleshed in rousing stories about a bizarre Southern ghost town, a nature boy who is persecuted by his peers, a ranch sitter in the Northwest who tries to save the place from a couple of two-legged predators, and a trio of fisherman who have a trapped coyote in a box. Bass excels in exploring the interplay between men and the natural world that challenges and chastens them.