During the nineteenth century thousands of Scots crossed the Atlantic to start a new life in America. Initially settling on the east coast many soon ventured west into the alien landscape of this unexplored frontier. Seeking their fortune in gold, cattle or farming the Scots braved harsh living conditions, hostile environments and difficult journeys over vast distances.

Jenni Calder gives an unbiased view of the Scots who were so important to the shaping of American history and the frontier legacy, showing them as heroes and abusers, law makers and law breakers as deserved. Frontier Scots tells the real stories of the men and women who conquered the wild west and how they faced conflict, disease, desperation, political pressures and finally built lasting communities among strangers and far from home.