The Next Right Thing — Bill Russell

As nineteen-year old Travis Garrett begins his journey west in the spring of 1860, he is filled with the freewheeling excitement of working as a wrangler on a covered wagon train crew. But when devastation wracks the settlers, he must battle bandits, buffalo herds, and floods to save himself and his fellow survivors. Upon reaching the town of Ogallala, what Travis first envisions as a safe haven instead leads to his awkward discovery of first love, the brutal jealousy of a jilted suitor, and a showdown with the most notorious bandit of them all -- El Gato, wanted for murder in two countries.

Travis, and those around him, soon learn that life can be tenuous and the path they set out on may not lead to the place they were expecting.