A simple conversation takes place in a saloon on the eve of a special day.

On his way home from a Christmas shopping trip in Placerville, Joe is thrown from a spooked horse and left stranded at the bottom of a deep ravine in the midst of a severe snowstorm.   Part of the series begun in “Bloodlines,” and includes the addition of a non-cannon character.  This story takes place the winter after "Virginia City Detour."

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