In the Heart of the Rockies is packed with adventure! In 1860, sixteen-year-old Tom Wade leaves England for the American Far West to find his uncle and to improve his family fortunes. Arriving at the small western outpost of Denver to mine for gold, he soon encounters Native American warriors, takes part in big-game hunts, and learns how to survive a frigid mountain winter with nothing but resourcefulness and perseverance. On their quest for a gold mine, he and his little band is spied on by Indians, chased across the Bad Lands, and overwhelmed by a snowstorm in the mountains. Henty’s descriptions of Colorado are taken from the official report of Major Powell’s four year assignment from the U. S. Government to survey the Colorado River valley. Tom Wade goes West as a boy…and returns as a young man.