Riders of the Purple Sage

Why these tropes fit

Set in the Mormon frontier country of the American West, Jane Withersteen battles persecution by church elders who want to force her into plural marriage, particularly Elder Tull whom she has evaded for years. Two outsiders—Bern Venters and the notorious Mormon-killing gunman Lassiter—arrive to help her protect her cattle ranch and witness her children. Jane's crisis deepens when her adopted child disappears, forcing her to abandon her faith and discover her true love. Subplots include a desperate horse race and a decision to seal off a hidden canyon by rolling a massive stone across its only entrance, permanently trapping those inside. A secondary plot follows Venters and a mysterious woman he once shot, whose tangled pasts intertwine with the larger conflict.