Kinch Riley: Newton, Kansas, 1871: One is a young drifter alone in a lawless land. The other is an aged gunfighter well-versed in the bawdy wonders of a wide-open boomtown. When these two lost souls come together one August night, and battle a band of Texas outlaws, the legend of Kinch Riley will be born.

Indian territory: When hired gun John Ryan heads into Indian Territory with a brawling crew of railroad workers, a battle of bloodshed and treachery ensues. But when he later meets the proud Cherokees--and the beautiful daughter of and embattled chief--Ryan sees for himself how his employer's steel rails are splitting the heart of a people's last home. Can his conscience keep him from pulling the trigger?