Josh Ford is the best man the Marshal Service has ever had, so when the governor of Montana needs someone to look into the disappearance of wagon trains in the Bitterroots, Ford is the man he chooses. What Ford finds is a brutal autocrat who rules with terror unlike Ford has ever seen. Across the northwest, he must fight against a maniac and his small army - but when a final twist puts it all in jeopardy, he realizes that the badge he wears may be the difference between law and justice.