One hot summer evening in 1877, the residents of a small Colorado mining town watched in horror as an upstart gunslinger named Creeg Bedloe deliberately goaded an unsuspecting young Mexican into drawing on him, resulting in the man's being cut down in one smoky blast from Bedloe's deadly six-shooter. His death would be but the first in a long line of bloody encounters involving a very special, uniquely-designed .45 caliber Colt Peacemaker that would pass fatefully from one hand to another, and invariably with each transition, someone would end up dead.

From its first owner to its last, the Colt became the instrument of destruction favored by men who were spellbound by the power it held over them, almost as if they drew strength from the nickel-plated revolver with the carved ivory grips. U. S. Marshal "Ivory John" Morgan is driven to break the spell of the Colt, and overcome those who view dealing death as their calling.