The war has been over for three years but only now is Charlie Jefferson returning home. If he has changed during his absence, so too have the inhabitants of the Wyoming valley he left behind. Neighbourliness has been replaced by greed and hostility; the cluster of buildings around Sam Flint's trading post has developed into a small township where gun-carrying saddle-tramps congregate; and a man called Brent Deacon is forging an empire at the expense of the original settlers. Choosing to interfere on behalf of Lars Svensson, who is accused of murder, brings Charlie into conflict with the dangerous Deacon, but the reasons for their animosity are much more personal.