New Mexico Territory, 1825: a volatile frontier where cultures collide. In Taos Valley, the brutal murder of a Mexican official and theft of the legendary Sangre de Cristo Cache—priceless Spanish gold and sacred religious artifacts—threaten to ignite open war. The cache, key to the new government's stability, becomes a magnet for deadly ambition.

U.S. Territorial Marshal Sam Hartwell rides into this powder keg. The Hawken rifle used points to American mountain men, but Hartwell uncovers a deeper, more insidious conspiracy: the theft was an inside job, its secrets guarded by powerful figures. Montoya died for what he knew.

Hartwell’s perilous quest for truth plunges him into a labyrinth of conflicting desires over the treasure. He must navigate the clandestine dealings at Elena Vasquez’s trading post, Taos’s nerve center, relying on the shrewd, enigmatic widow who holds the town’s secrets. He’s forced to forge a dangerous alliance with Ely “Bear” Thompson, the formidable leader of the mountain men, an initial suspect turned crucial, if unpredictable, ally.

The investigation unmasks a plot to sell priceless artifacts to American collectors while diverting the gold to fund a private army aimed at shattering Mexican rule. Hartwell finds himself pitted against the elusive “Mr. Smith,” a shadowy American agent, and the fanatical renegade “Padre,” who commands a brutal following from a haunted, abandoned pueblo. The pursuit becomes a desperate race against time, leading to a bloody confrontation in the treacherous Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The Sangre de Cristo Conspiracy delivers a gripping Western mystery set in an authentic, rarely explored era of political intrigue and raw frontier justice. Can Marshal Hartwell unravel the conspiracy and recover the sacred cache before Taos Valley explodes and the treasure is lost forever?