Desert Gold
A border town like Casita is no place for a drifter - especially a rich man's son looking for adventure. From the moment Dick Gale steps into the stinking, sun-baked hellhole of gambling and corruption, revolution, and revenge, he gets more than he bargained for. His old friend Thorne is in love with a beautiful Senorita who's been targeted by Mexican rebel Rojas. A bold, sneering devil of a man, feared, envied, and idolised by his people, Rojas spends gold like he sills blood - and collects women like trinkets. Gale knows that defying such a man could be suicide. Defeating him is his only chance to survive - in a brutal one-on-one battle on the parched desert cliffs.
A rich man's son looking for adventure, he steps into a border town and gets entangled in a revolution and a conflict with a Mexican rebel.
A bold, sneering Mexican rebel who is feared, envied, and idolized by his people. He targets a beautiful Senorita and is a formidable opponent to Dick Gale.
An old friend of Dick Gale who is in love with a beautiful Senorita targeted by Rojas.
A beautiful Senorita who is the object of Thorne's affection and targeted by Rojas.
Desert Gold is a standalone novel and does not require reading any other books by Zane Grey to understand its plot or characters.
Desert Gold showcases Zane Grey's characteristic blend of Western adventure and romance, but it stands out for its particularly intense focus on the harsh desert environment as a central antagonist, a theme he explored deeply here.