Barley Newton is cold sober the day he walks down the dusty street in the gold-mining town of Baddock in the Montana Territory. The year is 1870, and Barley knows he couldn't have seen what he just saw: The man who passes him on the street is Major Andrew Pryor. But this is impossible! Pryor was Barley's commander in one of the bloodiest of all Civil War battles. And Pryor was killed in battle in 1864, more than five years ago. His body was found and buried. So why is Barley so sure it's Pryor he sees in the remote town of Baddock? And, stranger still, why is Barley Newton found dead soon after the mysterious encounter? Back in Washington, officials at the War Department want some answers. It is almost unheard of for an officer to desert his troops. If Pryor, a West Point man, is indeed still alive, he must be apprehended and punished for the traitor he is. But Pryor has clearly taken a new name and identity and may be difficult to locate now that Barley Newton is dead. Captain Thomas Maynard, traveling incognito, is sent west to investigate.