In “The Masked Rider” the betrothed of Carlos Torreño, Lucia d’Arquista, is making her way to Casa Torreño in Spanish California in which no expense has been spared in making her journey a lavish one by her soon-to-be father-in-law, Francisco Torreño. But it is on the journey that Francisco decides that Lucia is a sparrowhawk and that she must be watched carefully, especially once she takes an interest in Taki, a Navajo who is working off a debt to Francisco.
Max Brand® (1892–1944) is the best-known pen name of widely acclaimed author Frederick Faust, creator of Destry, Dr. Kildare, and other beloved fictional characters. Orphaned at an early age, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley. He became one of the most prolific writers of our time but abandoned writing at age fifty-one to become a war correspondent in World War II, where he was killed while serving in Italy.