The Rainbow Trail

In Short

John Shefford, a disgraced former minister from the East, ventures into the canyon-carved borderlands between Arizona and Utah. Guided by a phantom dream and a mysterious rainbow, he searches for a young woman named Fay Larkin, rumored to be held in a hidden Mormon settlement. His quest draws him into a vast, sun-baked landscape of fugitive polygamists, outlaw rustlers, and Native guides. As he navigates local hostilities, treacherous gulches, and shifting faiths, Shefford trades his idealism for the raw endurance of the frontier, discovering love and a renewed purpose in the American wilderness.

The Story

Driven by a desire to redeem his failed life and drawn by the legendary story of a friend, John Shefford travels west to the desolate, colored plateaus of the Arizona-Utah border. He is chasing a rumor: that Fay Larkin—a girl believed long trapped in an inaccessible canyon called Surprise Valley—is alive and being raised in secret among the Mormons. At Red Lake, the vast and forbidding landscape warns him to turn back, but Shefford pushes forward, trading his horse for foot travel when his mount disappears, and eventually reaching the trading post at Kayenta.

At Kayenta, the trader Withers and his wife introduce Shefford to the complex realities of the desert. Shefford forms an indispensable bond with Nas Ta Bega, a quiet and deeply spiritual Navajo who becomes his guide and brother. Together, they journey toward Stonebridge, a rigid Mormon enclave across the Utah line. There, under an assumed identity, Shefford lives among the villagers, observing their close-knit community, their deep religious devotion, and the dark undercurrents of forced polygamy that bind their women.

Through patient searching, Shefford discovers that Fay Larkin is indeed alive, living under the watchful, possessive eyes of the local church leaders who intend to give her in marriage to an unseen elder. Shefford secretly meets Fay in the gathering twilights. Though trauma and fear have numbed her spirit, his presence kindles a slow hope. To free her, Shefford must also solve the mystery of her missing protectors, Jane Withersteen and the legendary gunman Lassiter, who have been sealed in Surprise Valley for twelve years behind a fallen boulder.

Guided by Nas Ta Bega, Shefford and his companions locate the hidden passage into Surprise Valley. They scale sheer rock faces and navigate dizzying cliffs to rescue the aging Jane and Lassiter, who has spent his years of isolation washing a sack full of gold nuggets from the valley's stream. Reunited with Fay, the party flees into the labyrinthine wilderness, relentlessly pursued by Shadd's outlaw band and hostile Piutes.

During a desperate ambush on a narrow trail, Shefford fires a rifle shot that causes an outlaw's horse to plunge into the canyon, triggering a catastrophic stampede that sends their pursuers over the rim to their deaths. Shattered by the violence but determined to save his companions, Shefford leads the survivors through the grand chasm of Nonnezoshe Boco down to the thundering, muddy waters of the Colorado River. There, aided by loyal friends, the party breaks free from the desert's grip, traveling onward to a peaceful valley in Illinois where old friends wait, leaving the wild trails and painful secrets of the canyon country behind them forever.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Shefford arrives alone at the desolate basin of Red Lake, awed and intimidated by the massive, unknown plateaus stretching into Utah. After losing his horse, he continues on foot across the scorched sagebrush until he reaches Withers' trading post, where he learns of the hidden Mormon settlements nearby.

Into the sanctuary Guided by the trader and the Navajos, Shefford travels through the towering red walls of the Sagi Canyon toward Stonebridge. He adjusts to the harsh rhythm of the trail, finding a deep, quiet strength in his growing friendship with the Navajo guide, Nas Ta Bega.

The captive bloom Under the guise of a wandering laborer, Shefford integrates into the Mormon village of Stonebridge and discovers Fay Larkin living in fear of an arranged polygamous marriage. Night after night in the dark, he speaks with her, slowly earning her trust and vowing to break the invisible cage surrounding her.

Unlocking the hidden valley Nas Ta Bega guides Shefford to the rim of Surprise Valley, where they scale vertical stone walls using ropes and notch ladders. They locate the aged Jane Withersteen and the tired gunman Lassiter, helping them escape their twelve-year canyon prison along with a heavy sack of gold.

A thunderbolt on the ledge Cornered on a treacherous mountain trail by Shadd's ruthless gang, Shefford fires a single shot in self-defense; the wounded horse plunges backward, sweeping the entire pursuing party over the abyss in a fatal cascade.

The roar of the river Shaken by the violent confrontation, the small group flees through the natural stone arches of Nonnezoshe down to the banks of the Grand Canyon, where the thundering Colorado River marks the final barrier to their freedom.

A new dawn Safely out of the desert reaches, the survivors gather in a lush green meadow with old allies, where Jane reclaims her beloved black horses and Shefford embraces a quiet future shaped by the wild spirit of the trail.

The People

• John Shefford: A former Eastern minister whose lost faith and personal disgraced past drive him into the desert. He seeks redemption by chasing a romantic rumor, ultimately transforming from an impractical dreamer into a hardened, decisive man of action who chooses mercy over revenge.
• Fay Larkin: A young woman raised in the isolation of Surprise Valley and later taken by Mormon elders. Traumatized, fearful, and shadowed by forced marriage, her spirit slowly reawakens through Shefford's devotion and protection.
• Nas Ta Bega: A noble, quiet Navajo who becomes Shefford's steadfast guide and adopted "brother." He offers a serene, earth-bound spirituality that anchors Shefford through violence and despair, acting as the moral center of the journey.
• Lassiter: A famous, aging gunman who spent twelve years trapped in Surprise Valley. Though his hands are worn and his gun-fighting days are ending, his quiet resolve and accumulated sack of gold help secure the group's future.
• Jane Withersteen: The gentle, formerly wealthy Mormon woman who chose exile in Surprise Valley over giving up her heritage or her friends. Rescued in her later years, she retains her deep capacity for love and memory.
• Withers: An pragmatic frontier trader at Kayenta who maintains a delicate neutrality between native tribes, Mormon neighbors, and outlaw bands to survive.

In Its Own Voice

"Red Lake must be his Rubicon. Either he must enter the unknown to seek, to strive, to find, or turn back and fail and never know and be always haunted."

Shefford halts his horse at the edge of the red desert basin, realizing that crossing into the uncharted northern canyons will permanently alter the course of his life.

"They have no God. They are blind like the Mokis who have the creeping growths on their eyes. They have no God they can see and hear and feel, who is with them day and night."

Nas Ta Bega shares his perspective on the rigid doctrines of the church leaders with Shefford while they rest along the trail.

"Wal, I rolled a stone once, but I reckon now thet time Wrangle--"

Lassiter chuckles softly with his companions after their escape, reflecting on the legendary events that sealed them in Surprise Valley years ago.

What It's Really About

Beneath its adventure plot, the novel examines the search for authentic faith in an unforgiving landscape. Shefford begins his journey alienated from formal religion, only to find a truer spirituality in the silence of the wilderness and the earth-centered devotion of his Native guide. The book exposes the destructive weight of religious extremism, particularly the systemic subjugation of women under closed dogmatic rule. It argues that true manhood and morality are not found in rigid creeds or vengeful violence, but in empathy, brotherhood, and the willingness to endure suffering for the freedom of others. The desert operates as a forge, stripping away Eastern illusions to reveal the raw, elemental truth of human character.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate expansive, atmosphere-rich frontier fiction will find themselves swept up in this classic Western narrative. Zane Grey crafts a magnificent, almost mythic portrait of the American Southwest, filling the page with glowing red canyon walls, fragrant purple sage, and the vast, quiet solitude of an untamed wilderness. The prose carries a rhythmic, romantic momentum that makes the desert feel like a living character.

It is worth noting that the book reflects early twentieth-century melodramatic traditions. Modern readers will encounter period-typical romantic tropes, heavy dialect, and stylized depictions of frontier conflict. The narrative moves at a deliberate pace, taking time to linger over campfire conversations, quiet trail rides, and long descriptions of sandstone monoliths.

Yet, for all its traditional pacing, the novel leaves a lasting impression through its deep reverence for the natural world and its earnest exploration of human resilience. The bond between Shefford and Nas Ta Bega provides a grounded emotional core that elevates the story beyond a simple rescue tale into a memorable study of brotherhood and renewal.