Settlers in Montana in the 1880's. Herding sheep. Scraping out a living. Love and Loss. I wasn't sure I'd like this much but I did. A lot! Ivan Doig's work is not something you rush through. This is a book to be savored. It is what I would call a "ponderous" book. The prose is almost like poetry. That may turn some people off but I loved it. It's a historical novel about settling Montana but it is also about love and friendship and loss and enduring. It is the first book in a trilogy about the McCaskill and Barclay families. This one follows them from 1889-1919. I can't wait to read the second book.