When Deputy U.S. Marshal Luke Cochran is sent to Braxton to investigate the mayor’s murder and the outbreak of rustling that is devastating the local ranchers, he finds more than he bargained for. Not only has a town councilman disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but Luke’s reception by the local law and the remaining councilmen is hostile. When he sets out to find the missing councilman, father of pretty Lily Peacock, he is shot at.

Thread by thread he unravels a plot to seize the nearby ranches and take control of the town and the surrounding territory. As his investigation uncovers hidden pasts and relentless greed, he learns of a stolen fortune. It has been hidden away by the one man who knows its location. It belongs to the people, and it is Luke’s job to find and return it. To do so, he must unmask the mastermind behind the takeover plot and outsmart—and outshoot—his enemies.