Cartridge Creek was a typical New Mexico cattle town, not unlike the ones Will Leatherman had known in his days as a trail hand. But now Will was a partner in San Antonio Development, and he had come to find out why the Southern Pacific was so eager to sell the town, and whether he and his partner could turn it into a profitable investment. It didn't take long to discover why the railroad wanted out; the town had become a haven for gunmen, and the two heavily-armed factions were on the verge of all-out warfare. The decent folk were ready to leave town, the ranchers had taken to driving their stock to another railhead, and the money-making possibilities seemed nil. But Will Leatherman had a strange feeling about Cartridge Creek, that somehow this town had more to offer than the usual business deal. Almost before he realized it, Leatherman found himself on the brink of finding something he'd almost forgotten he wanted, a place to really call home—or losing it forever. Then he knew he had to fight for Cartridge Creek.

Nothing in Sheriff Frank Gaylord's background had ever prepared him for this. Pushing forty years of age, but still strong and fast with a gun, Gaylord truly believed he'd done a good job in Colter County. But there was talk behind his back. Talk about how he was secretly on the payroll of the Chain Ranch. Talk about how he favored the large cattle barons over the small ranchers. And now, as his re-election approached, more than Gaylord's job was on the line. His honor and the lives of his best friends were in jeopardy as well. Sheriff Gaylord had always been an honest lawman, but when wealth, power and a beautiful woman are dangled in front of him, it looks like Gaylord's badge is about to be bought. And suddenly, Frank Gaylord must meet his most dangerous enemy yet—himself.

Sam Ramsey was a loner. He didn't need anything or anybody as long as he had his ranch—a place to breed and raise the sturdy little Morgan horses that were his whole life. But Sam lived in a time of violence; a time when bandits and cutthroats repeatedly swept across southwest Texas to plunder and rustle supplies for Pancho Villa's ragtag army. When they finally came after his Morgans, Sam Ramsey was no match for them. A man alone, he started out after the raiders, determined to get his horses back—or die. Sam stumbled on help where he least expected it—from a black man named Concho and a beautiful widow named Nora. They were three desperate people and they struck up a strange bargain as they set out on a trek that seemed certain death for all of them ...