Ochessa is heartbroken when she finds her brother fatally wounded. His dying words are about a childhood puzzle box, missing legal documents, and a drifter named Nicodemus Breedlove. Ochessa vows to find Will's murderer-and the man Will described. No stranger to trouble, Nic's only concerns are his Stetson, his mule Sadie, and a long awaited chance at retribution. After gaining Ochessa's trust, and taking the job she offers, life gets more complicated. Back on the ranch in Colorado, Ochessa works as hard as any man. Then Nick tempts her into playing even harder as a woman-both are consumed by their growing love for one another. Weathering a stampede, a gully washer, and a pack of outlaws, they locate the killer. As Nic's quest for justice, and Ochessa's vendetta for Will playout, bullets fly... Not everybody's gonna make it out alive.