When Buster McCloud is accused of killing Aaron Knight and Salvadora Somoza, he doesn't stay a free man for long. U.S. Marshal Lincoln Hawk wastes no time in dragging the outlaw back to Russell Creek. Once there, McCloud confesses to killing Aaron, but claims he didn't kill the woman.

Lincoln's investigation concludes that Salvadora is still alive, and that she's not the only woman to have gone missing from Russell Creek recently. With all the evidence pointing to the ruthless gold prospector Domingo Villaruel, Lincoln must travel into the very heart of Domingo's empire to uncover the truth. There, in the lawless El Dorado, Lincoln faces the toughest battle of his life as he fights to rescue the innocent and to deliver justice to the guilty.