The war has been over for two years and Charlie Jefferson is returning home to a changed place. Neighbourliness has been replaced by greed and hostility; the cluster of buildings around Sam Flint's trading post has developed into a small township where gun-carrying saddletramps congregate; and a man called Brent Deacon is forging an empire at the expense of the original settlers. When Charlie interferes on behalf of Lars Svensson, accused of murder, it brings him into direct conflict with the dangerous Deacon ...