With his father gone to fight for the South, Boone McCallister and the cow hunters of the Flat Iron Ranch drive 250 head of scrawny cattle to a Gulf port south of Tampa, dodging Yankees as well as a degenerate bunch of swamp outlaws. 1864. Florida is a state that is very much cattle country and not at all a place of citrus growers and tourists. Boone McCallister's story was about more than just about driving cattle. It was also about pursuit of a gang of desperadoes who had pillaged and set fire to the McCallister Ranch-- and taken young Lena captive. And he wants it made clear-- he did not feed David Klee to an alligator.