Hard Winter

Two Families. Two Dynasties. Two Centuries.
A Saga of Montana.

Bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone return to Cutthroat County in their Montana series, following the Maddox and Drew families from the time they struggled to plant their roots in the 1800s to the twenty-first century trials they endure to maintain their legacies.

NOW

As winter descends upon Cutthroat County, rancher Ashton Maddox has to rely on a skeleton crew to keep his cattle from succumbing to the dangers of the cold winter months. County Sheriff John T. Drew has his hands full this time of year heading up search and rescue missions for adventurous snowborders and skiers tempting fate on nearby Always Winter mountain range. When an unexpected blizzard covers the region, Drew finds himself babysitting a vicious gang of prisoners stranded in town. And as the storm triggers avalanches, Drew and Maddox learn their son and daughter are trapped on the mountain—and that the gang’s leader has escaped from custody . . .

THEN

This isn’t the first Montana blizzard that the Drew and Maddox families have faced. Back in 1894, Murdo Maddox lost his livestock—and nearly his entire cowboy crew—braving a treacherous storm that ravaged the countryside. Sheriff Napoleon Drew pursued a mad dog killer across the unforgiving snow and ice. Both men risked their lives to save others, fighting the most devastating weather conjured by nature—and the worst in human nature . . .