Justice rides a hard trail. Love rides even harder.

Great Western Detective League operative Beau Longstreet rides into Cheyenne to crack a suspected bank fraud case—but justice has a way of leading him down darker trails. Rumors swirl of a bloody range war brewing in Johnson County, where ruthless cattle barons are set to drive small-time ranchers and homesteaders from the land.

Longstreet has sworn off distractions, but when word reaches him that Maddie O'Rourke has vanished into the heart of the conflict, duty and heart collide. Once the woman he hoped to marry, Maddie refused him for fear of the dangers he faced. Now, she's bought herself a slice of trouble in Buffalo, a town teetering on the edge of war. When she sends for Beau, desperation is written between the lines.

Joined by his sharp-shooting, smooth-talking partner Briscoe Cane, Longstreet steps into a maelstrom of vigilante justice, ruthless killings, and backroom deals where the law holds no sway. As the fight for Johnson County erupts into open warfare, old wounds between Maddie and Beau burn anew. But with deadly enemies on all sides and time running out, they'll have to decide if love is worth the risk—or if some wars can't be won.