Since the publication of his first novel in 1994, Ralph Cotton has impressed readers and critics alike with gritty tales of the Old West.

Some time ago, Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack caught a bullet in the back. After a winter spent healing, he's now traveling to meet Memphis Beck, leader of the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall gang and the man who saved his life. But another player explodes on the scene - an assassin known as the Dutchman. And as these three men's destinies intertwine, it becomes clear at least one of them will not survive the encounter.