Seth Claybourne, a defeated Confederate soldier with no reason to return home, decided to ride west. Crossing a desert he encountered a man who had been left for dead. Jeb Dawson was still alive, but when his attackers returned, Seth drove them off. Dawson, unfit to travel, wanted Seth to travel to Condor Peaks to validate his claim on valuable land. Vested interests wanted him dead. And being Dawson's proxy put Seth into the firing line ...