1852 was an election year. At that time, Hangtown was a mining camp in California's mother lode. The Native American Party was popular there because it wanted to make the United States a white, Protestant nation. Opposing the Nativists was Zach Johnson, the owner of the local newspaper. Zach's editorials argued women, Negroes, Indians, and immigrants deserved the same legal rights as native-born men. The struggle for dominance between the Nativists and Zach was unrelenting, and at times, ruthless.

The women drawn to Hangtown were like the men: they were risk-takers. Zach fathered a child with two of them, and each wanted to be his wife. Zach did not like this. When Zach's brother, a priest, discovered what Zach was doing, he insisted Zach amend his ways and get right with the Lord. Zach did not like this either.

Zach's spiritual journey was unconventional: he believed dreams contain messages that deserve consideration. Consequently, Zach's quest to be close to God startled and unsettled him.

Hangtown, The Dark Night tells this fascinating story and completes the Hangtown trilogy.