Orphaned, homeless, and on the verge of manhood, Wilson Hayes finds refuge in the employ of powerful rancher Jesse Longmore. Cowboy skills, tenacity, and grit propel the young man's rise to a powerful position on the Fishhook Ranch and membership in the family-but Longmore's belief that he has become a threat results in his driving Hayes away and into the uncomfortable company of an outlaw band and then a rival rancher. Follow Wilson Hayes on an empire-building quest of biblical proportions as he seeks a way home to the Fishhook.
"Rod Miller has been taking home those Spur Awards, and it's no small wonder. He's a cowboy who writes like one, and even talks like one. But he's got a real grip on the genre with Cold as the Clay. Don't read it in an isolated line shack, it's a tough story by a master storyteller." -Dusty Richards, Western Writers Hall of Fame author
