When New York City shopkeeper Steve Dancy moved west to experience the frontier, he wound up embroiled in a deadly feud ... a feud he was forced to settle with guns. Now all he wants to do is follow up on a few business interests, write about his adventures, and continue his exploration of the West.

But in the autumn of 1879, Joseph McAllen asks Dancy for help. Ute renegades have abducted a young girl near Mesa Verde, Colorado, and the Pinkerton captain wants him to join the rescue party. Surprisingly, the trail doesn't lead into the San Juan Mountains, but to Leadville -- a rich mining town teeming with the worst elements of a raw frontier. Bitter feuds, vendettas, and greed turn the affair into a bloody conflict that spans the state.

Dancy has proven that he can handle himself in dangerous situations. But will this shopkeeper survive the perils of an untamed mountain wilderness?