In 1879 Marcus Irons is the young deputy marshal of the small town of Madera Verde in Arizona Territory. He is deadly with a gun, expert with his fists, likes whiskey, poker, and women, and exudes a physically intimidating air of authority.

Earlier, during the Civil War, an attack by Apaches forced a party of the subversive Knights of the Golden Circle to bury a strongbox of gold coins in the ruins of an ancient pueblo in northeast Arizona Territory. Beautiful Ophelia Grayson has just learned of the treasure, and she hires Irons to help her and her crew try to find it.

Archibald Hardwick, the erudite editor of the local newspaper, joins the search, eager for a good story.

It's a three-day ride up the long, steep escarpment leading from the Verde Valley to the Colorado Plateau and its scattered ruins of pueblos, and they must traverse the challenging Mogollon [MO-gee-yon] Rim to get there. The journey and the search for the gold are beset by deadly threats and startling revelations. For that matter, can Charlie Number Two, the Navajo scouting for buffalo soldiers, even find the desired pueblo?

Marcus Irons will be lucky to simply survive the quest!