J. Fran Baird

The Last Vagabond J. Fran Baird

1934-Emil Langerzweig's public censure of Nazi collaboration forced him to flee his homeland with a young son and a dream. In Austria, his aristocratic family raised Lipizzaner horses for the Spanish Court. In America, he'd change his name to Longbranch, modify the age-old tradition, raise Thoroughbreds. Thad Longbranch, third-generation cowboy at the reins of the "Bar L" is living his grandfather's dream, confident his children will insure continuity of the dynasty. Buffered by fifteen-thousand acres in the foothills of the Rockies, his wife Sam seems content homeschooling, writing children's books. Satisfying, predictable, life is good-until the letters arrive. Bearing the Colorado State Seal, the first missive poses a request that thrusts Sam into the political arena, fosters a relationship with a charming would-be Governor, jeopardizes a twenty-year marriage. Postmarked Mexico, the second letter reveals a longheld secret, a secret that threatens succession of the Longbranch family, and propels a crazed Mexican drug lord across the border to Colorado in search of an orphaned boy. Sprinkled with humor-empathetic characters and villains you'll love to hate, bring to life this fast-paced tale of passion, murder, remorse and acceptance of a child who may lay claim to a fortune-the last vagabond.