This enthralling tale of the nineteenth-century west transports the reader to the era about which Larry McMurtry writes better than anyone else. Told with his unique blend of historical fact and storytelling genius, the novel follows the Cecil family's arduous journey by riverboat and wagon from Boone's Lick, Missouri, to Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming. Fifteen-year-old -Shay narrates, describing the journey that begins when his Ma, Mary Margaret, decides to hunt down her elusive husband, Dick, to tell him she's leaving him. Vintage McMurtry, Boone's Lick is at once high adventure, a perfect Western tale, and a moving love story.