Tom Cord was within three months of retirement when bushwhack lead cut him down. No lawman ever allowed one of his fellow officers to be murdered without making every effort to get his killer. Deputy Sheriff Bradford Counter, a modern-day gun wizard, had been Tom's partner; Woman Deputy Alice Fayde was Tom's niece.
Together they began the hunt for the old deputy's killer. The search took them across the Rockabye County rangelands, through the slums of Gusher City's Bad Bit and into the upper-crust district of Upton Heights. At last the trail ended, with Brad Counter's gun-skill matched against the two professional killers who shot his partner down.