Man in the Saddle

Owen Merritt and Sally Bidwell have a long history together as they loved each other for a long time and were on the verge of getting married. But destiny was against them and Sally ended up marrying Will Isham, owner of the biggest ranch in the state called the Skull, and the richest man in the Bunchgrass Hills. Animosity between Merritt and Isham grows as the Skull's owner tries to buy out a small-time cowboy and push him out of business. Caught between the woman who left him and the woman who loves him, Merritt is forced to stand up and fight for himself.

Ernest Haycox is among the most successful writers of American western fiction. He is credited for raising western fiction up from the pulp fiction into the mainstream. His works influenced other writers of western fiction to the point of no return. Fans of his work included Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, and the latter once wrote, "I read The Saturday Evening Post whenever it has a serial by Ernest Haycox."