A story spanning the historical events surrounding the daring 1871 escape from the Nevada State Prison and the frantic activities of those involved.
      The era’s most notorious highway men, train robbers and murderers fled into the high Nevada desert on a late September evening. Behind lie the dead and wounded. The grueling gun battle began in the Warder’s quarters and spread to the courtyard below.
      Beyond the confines of the prison, most of the men headed for the nearby Carson River. Others branched off into small parties, hoping to elude the lawmen that were surely to follow, and follow they did.
      Governor Bradley had the Virginia City Militia join the search for these desperados. Nearly every lawman in Nevada sought out their trail. Unfortunately the lives of several ordinary citizens were horribly impacted by the activities of these escapees.
      Over the next few months, their escapades were a hot topic of conversation. Newspapers reported nearly anything related to this murderous event and left to the reader to determine what was factual and what was fiction.
      One of the most devastating accounts is the shoot out between a Benton Hot Springs posse and a group of escapees above Long Valley, California. The action took place at Monte Diablo Lake. Following this event, the local citizens renamed it Convict Lake.
      This book chronicles the exploits of these hardened criminals as they interact with the lawmen, soldiers and just plain regular folks in their Quest for Freedom.