American author Owen Wister wrote The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains in 1902; it takes place in Wyoming Territory in the 1880s. The story opens with an unknown narrator traveling to Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and meeting a very tall and attractive stranger. The unnamed visitor who escorted the narrator to Judge Henry's ranch in Sunk Creek, Wyoming, turns out to be the Virginian. The narrator and the Virginian get to know one another as he gradually starts to comprehend the extremely different from what he had anticipated nature of life in the West. The narrator's account of significant events in the life of the Virginian begins with this encounter, which also marks the beginning of a relationship that will last a lifetime. The Virginian's life and adventures are followed throughout the book. The fight with his enemy Trampas and his relationship with Molly Stark Wood serve as the central plot for this tale of action, brutality, hatred, retaliation, love, and friendship.
