When American horse breaker Ben Tyler is hired to run guns to Cuba on the eve of the Spanish-American War in 1898, he knows it’s a dicey proposition. Once there, he’s sur- rounded by the Guardia Civil, Cuban revolutionaries, and, of course, a beautiful love interest, none of whose allegiances are clear. On a wild quest to secure a $40,000 ransom for a staged kidnapping, Tyler encounters a series of double crosses and a goodly amount of bloodshed. Leonard fans may be surprised by the locale and time frame of this novel—his 34th—but they won’t be disappointed. His spare, precise descriptions and masterful comic touches still grace each page.