The basis for AMC cable network's first original production starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church. During the late 1800s two unique events were taking place in the American West. The British were deep in the throes of the Boer War and were coming to the U.S. to purchase horses for their military campaigns. Meanwhile, another trade was taking place. Chinese women were being kidnapped from the West Coast and brought to the interior west to serve as prostitutes. In Broken Trail, the story unfolds upon these historical facts, following the story of five Chinese women, kidnapped and destined for a life of misery, whose fate becomes intertwined with two horseman wrangling horses for sale to the British Empire. In the process, Print Ritter transitions from lonesome cowboy to father figure. Unlike most Westerns, Broken Trail 's focus is on the female characters, making the story unique, compelling, and timely. In Duvall's own words, "Broken Trail completes a personal trilogy for me of Lonesome Dove and Open Range.".