Cruel Curse

Mark of the Bloody Seven

Cruel Curse is a haunting tale about a wrongly accused Civil War Soldier named, Jim McBride. After tragedy strikes outside Savannah, Georgia, during Sherman's push to the sea he suffers a crisis of conscience. In fear for his life he escapes west to New Mexico Territory in a desperate attempt to avoid losing his freedom on charges of desertion brought against him by an unprincipled Army Captain named, Leyden Graves. After a bloody confrontation leaves the Captain maimed and mentally deranged, Jim discovers that the time and distance he put between them hasn't discouraged Leyden from trying to fulfill his quest for revenge.

Years later the outcast officer catches up to Jim while attempting to steal a gold shipment Jim is assigned to protect, but fails to kill him during the assault. He does, however, manage to capture the gold, setting off a chain of events that will take both men through a series of life altering encounters. The story takes place against the backdrop of a volatile New Mexican frontier, eventually leading to a final confrontation only one man can survive. At stake is the life that Jim longs to live, with the Navajo bride he has come to love after saving her from a life of servitude. If not for the help of her devoted brother all hope would be lost. It is a story of regret, survival, redemption, and the casting out of demons from the darker place within.