A young fur trapper finds trouble and a chance to prove himself on a journey up the Missouri, in a novel by the author of Fire Along the Big Muddy.Jacques Maxwell is the illegitimate son of a Louisiana slave owner and a Creole slave. He runs away at 16, fights in the War of 1812, and ultimately signs on with the Missouri Fur Company. Maxwell encounters more than his share of adventures, including numerous skirmishes with Indians as well as betrayals by the men he considered to be his friends.Flintlock Trail is an action-packed western that is also the story of one man"s search for his identity.