He could ride with the best of them, but no one in the Ontawee Valley would hire a Metheny -- and Curt Metheny knew it even before he tried the last of the ranches, Hooper Forbes's vast Frying Pan outfit. Curt was boxed in by the hatred and vengeance of a town that didn't make much distinction between him and his father. Every day, it seemed that the box was getting smaller and smaller. Curt was about to explode. Curt wanted to lash out at somebody -- and almost anyone would do. This town would get a man down and then not even give him a chance at getting up again. He remembered younger men: Theron Ware, Stan Russett, and Harry Keech -- all of them following the lead of Curt and his brother Jack. And he remembered Lenora Forbes, who lavished her love only on him. His family was gone, leaving Curt alone as the outcast with no place to go. Still, he wouldn't leave the Ontawee Valley. He might even fight to save it ...