In the Arms of the Sky

A notorious Indian fighter and gunman, Rocky Mountain Jim Nugent had a soft spot in his heart for one thing: his beautiful homeland. In 1873, he was doing all that he could to see that Colorado's Estes Park—home of Longs Peak, the highest point in the Rocky Mountains—remanied public land.The daughter of a clergyman and raised in Victorian England—when women stayed home and raised families—Isabella Bird brought her own fervent dreams and goals into the rugged beauty of the Colorado Rockies. An experienced explorer and travel writer, Isabella is determined to be the first woman to climb Longs Peak. Together with Rocky Mountain Jim, she finds her Shangri-La in the beautiful heights of Estes Park—and they join forces to see that their mountain paradise will remain open to all long after they are gone.