Originally published in 1915, The Rainbow Trail is the sequel to Riders of the Purple Sage. At the end of that famous novel, a huge boulder had rolled down to shut off the entrance to Surprise Valley, leaving Lassiter, Jane Withersteen, and little Fay Larkin to a singular fate. Twelve years later a young, disillusioned, ex-preacher in Illinois, hears about the wonderful secret canyon where a couple with their young foster daughter had fled to for safety, knowing they could not likely get out ever again without help from outside. He heads out West and, without any experience, journeys into the unforgiving desert to fulfill this quest. He is helped along the way by a friendly Mormon, traders and a wise Navajo Indian. The author, Zane Grey, gives a vivid panoramic view of the mountains, meadows full of wildlife and challenges faced in the desert to survive.