Hard Winter

About Hard Winter

National bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return to Cutthroat County, Montana and the bold multigenerational saga of two ranch family dynasties fightiing to build and maintain their legacies, told in alternating timelines across 132 years, from 1891 through 2023.

Two Families. Two Dynasties. Two Centuries.
A Saga of Montana.


NOW:  As winter descends upon Cutthroat County, rancher Ashton Maddox has to rely on a skeleton crew to keep his cattle from succumbing to the dangers of the cold winter months. County Sheriff John T. Drew has his hands full this time of year heading up search and rescue missions for adventurous snowborders and skiers tempting fate on nearby Always Winter mountain range. When an unexpected blizzard covers the region, Drew finds himself babysitting a vicious gang of prisoners stranded in town. And as the storm triggers avalanches, Drew and Maddox learn their son and daughter are trapped on the mountain—and that the gang’s leader has escaped from custody . . .


THEN:  This isn’t the first Montana blizzard that the Drew and Maddox families have faced. Back in 1894, Murdo Maddox lost his livestock—and nearly his entire cowboy crew—braving a treacherous storm that ravaged the countryside. Sheriff Napoleon Drew pursued a mad dog killer across the unforgiving snow and ice. Both men risked their lives to save others, fighting the most devastating weather conjured by nature—and the worst in human nature . . .