When a thunderstorm forced the stage to make an unscheduled stop in Ferry Town, Carter Malone reckoned the delay gave him more time to prepare himself for a difficult return to Lonesome, a town in which he has a past. But he hadn't counted on Bart Merrill riding into town.

A fierce gunfight erupted that left seven men dead, including Marshal McKinney, who with his dying breath entrusted Carter with the task of taking his mysterious prisoner on the last leg of the journey to Lonesome.

With gunslingers along the trail aiming to free the prisoner, an adversary resurrected from Carter's own troubled past, and a stage full of people to protect, can he ever hope to reach Lonesome?