In the second book of the Trail series, Marshal Marion Daniels calls young Ruben Beeler away from his new life an' his new wife in Deer Run, to help with a investigation into the killin' a one woman an' the mutilation of another, North of St. Joe. That sets the two of 'em on a search for killers that leads Rube and Marion northward into unfamiliar territory, an' pits 'em agin a family of villains that has purty much had everthin' they way since back afore the Civil War. Push comes ta shove right smart an' things git hot an' heavy quick. Outnumbered an' outgunned, even Rube, Marion an' Homer have to take to the dodge. The situation comes to be fair desperate for everbody, an' a feller's life ain't worth mor'n two-bits afore they git the whole mess finished up on the Nodaway Trail.