His assignment -- to protect the Indians he had spent his entire adult life fighting against! Captain John Early had definitely been given the dirty end of the stick. It seemed that the lion's share of a lifetime as a member of the Indian Fighting Army qualified him to re-establish Fort Sheridan as an outpost to protect the nearby Pine Ridge Agency. As an outworn soldier, the Review Board figured he could make the mistakes that would otherwise be wasted on better men than he. But what they were overlooking is that -- first and foremost -- Captain Early was a soldier. He went into every situation as though it was a battle that his very life depended on winning. The only difference with this one was that it played against the Army he'd served for so long.