Having finished Texas Standoff, seven-time Spur Award winner Elmer Kelton-the Western Writers of America's "Best Western Writer of All Time"-took his leave with 50 notches on his gunbelt of classics. When Ranger Andy Pickard is sent to central Texas to investigate a series of killings and cattle thefts, two prominent cattlemen are prime suspects. But the rise of a gang of masked vigilantes and the arrival of a notorious hired gunman complicate matters.