It is 1830, and the Berrybender family--rich, aristocratic, English, and hopelessly out of place--is on its way up the Missouri River to see the untamed West as it begins to open up. With irascible determination--and a great deal of outright chaos--the party experiences both the awesome majesty and brutal savagery of the unexplored land, from buffalo stampedes and natural disasters to Indian raids and encounters with frontiersmen and trappers, explorers, pioneers, and one part-time preacher known as "the Sin Killer." Packed with breathtaking adventure, charming romance, and a sense of humor stretching clear over the horizon, Sin Killer is a truly unique view of the West that could only come from the boundless skill and imagination of Larry McMurtry.