The First Dance

Though series anchor Barnaby Skye dropped dead a couple of books ago, the Sky's West series lives on as it chronicles the life of Barnaby's son, Dirk, a mixed-blood school teacher and civilian translator for the U.S. Army in 1885 Montana. Much like in The Owl Hunt, in which Wheeler explored the shameful treatment by whites of Native Americans, he exposes the prejudice against people of mixed blood, especially the Metis, a predominantly French-Cree people driven south by the Canadian government. Dirk is sympathetic: while he is tolerated for his linguistic skills, he knows he will never be accepted because of his mixed blood, and after his new Metis bride, Therese, runs away on their wedding day, Dirk is ordered to join an army expedition to force the Metis back north to Canada, a task he hates and cannot understand. He's soon dismissed for insubordination and quickly decides to aid the Metis. Therese, meanwhile, is guided by a saint to build a church for the Metis. Aided by a mysterious Irishman and a crafty and sympathetic U.S. marshal, Therese and Dirk's separate efforts achieve surprising results, but at great cost. This sad, tragic tale finds in Dirk a character worth following. (July)