Not five minutes into the start of the Namko cattle drive, Frenchie Bernard, the drive's boss, is tossed by his feisty horse and breaks his leg. In pained whispers, he insists that his son Delore lead the drive. And so begins an adventure that takes 15-year-old Delore across the threshold to manhood. Along 200 miles of the remote Chilcotin plateau, Delore must boss his first drive. He must give commands to three men much older than himself; he is responsible for 197 cows. It could end up a 24-day disaster, with tensions among the men, a stampede, a near-drowning, a run-in with a murderer on the loose, and drunke cowboys. But Delore comes out on top. He learns of courage unselfishness and integrity, and above all of how to survive in a harsh environment and a sometimes harsh adult world. Written for younger readers in Paul St. Pierre's ever-popular style -- sharp, witty, and every sentence an entertainment -- Boss of the Namko Drive's sustained drama ande intense realism make it absorbing reading for all ages.