The Heritage of the Desert

by Zane Grey

First published 1910

Amazon

4.0(1,134)

A sick young easterner arrives in the Arizona Strip and is taken into a Mormon ranching household, where the desert gradually restores his health and changes his understanding of what a worthwhile life might be. He also becomes involved with a Navajo-Spanish woman and with a conflict over cattle, land and men determined to seize both.

The story combines romance with a sustained encounter with the desert environment. Water, grazing country and the isolation of scattered settlements shape every decision, while tensions between newcomers, Mormon ranchers and Native communities reveal a frontier in which cultural boundaries are as important as property lines.