A fictionalized account of the true story of 12-year-old Sallie Fox and her family's wagon train journey from Iowa to Vacaville, California. In 1858, 12-year-old Sallie Fox & her family leave Iowa by covered wagon. They follow the Santa Fe Trail & then go west across a bleak desert. Suddenly, Indians attack, driving off the cattle & oxen. One hundred people are now stranded in the searing summer heat, 500 miles from civilization. Yet, through grit, determination & luck, Sallie & others survive & reach California. Based on a true story, the book is drawn from diaries, letters & other historical sources. Its child's eye view of life on a wagon train interweaves information about the Santa Fe Trail & Arizona's Beale Wagon Road. Mostly, it tells the heartwarming story of a plucky pioneer girl. Fifteen line-drawings, map, photos. "A vivid picture of the excitements, hardships & dangers faced by children traveling the great overland trails a century & a half ago ... A well written book that both informs & entertains."