The town of Red Bend waited in fear.
Mace Orde and his three hell-raising sons were coming to in settle some old scores, and not a man there seemed likely to stand up to them ... except Marshal Ben Karpel.
Still, there wasn't much the ageing marshal could do against such ruthless killers. His beautiful daughter, Dell, was willing to pick up a gun and fight alongside him, but it wasn't until Blake Durant rode in that they really stood a chance of winning.
When the marshal arrested Mace Orde, he knew they'd never hold him long enough for the circuit judge to get there and try him for murder. Orde's sons would bust him out just as soon as they could.
That left only one option – to transport him across the desert to the larger town of Creede, where they had deputies who could guard him until the trial-date was set.
All they had to do now – Durant, an ageing lawman and his daughter – was get Orde there in one piece, before his sons could shred them to pieces.