The story of Mav Caid is a western-fiction with fantasy elements about a naive farmer's son who leaves Bandera, Texas at seventeen to experience life beyond the farm life into which he was born. After working as a wrangler and drover for Captain John Lytle driving cattle up the Great Western Cattle Trail, Mav strikes out on his own, arriving in Beaton, Arkansas where he obtains some land and settles in to live off the largess of nature. He suffers personal tragedy when his family in Bandera is mysteriously murdered because of a discovery by an uncle which Mav must pursue. His plan is to be short-lived when he finds that he cannot ignore his roots as the son of a farmer. Nor can he ignore the magic of Macy, the Arkland Stageline station-keeper's daughter whom he marries. This is the life story of Mav Caid and his family during which Mav must surmount periodic difficulties through intelligence and guile to survive. While unraveling his uncle's discovery, Mav encounters a strange, phantasmagoric figure, an ancient native named Windwalker, who plays a guiding role in the life of Mav and Macy. Mav becomes the 'Keeper of Tears' as the result of their encounter and receives protection from a mountain lion, his assigned totem. The children of Mav and Macy Caid, both natural and serendipitous tell a story of caring and dedication to their life's ambitions. The book contains references to actual historical events and characters to anchor in time the actions unfolding in the lives of Mav and Macy Caid.