Outrider

By the time Civil War veteran Cole McCoskrie arrives in the town of Serenity in the New Mexico Territory, his younger brother Isaac has been dead three months.

Witnesses claim Isaac died in a fair fight after a night of hard drinking in the local saloon, but Cole knows better. His brother never drank alcohol and a fair fight didn't include three bullets in the back.

According to Elizabeth, Isaac's widow and Cole's former lover, the trail to Isaac's killer leads straight to Robert Hamilton, a ruthless local rancher determined to build an empire buying land on the cheap, whether or not the owners of that land are prepared to sell.

Isaac turned down Hamilton's less than generous offer and shortly thereafter died in a hail of gunfire.

After Cole assures Elizabeth he'll deal with Hamilton, she warns him that Serenity's land baron has an army of hired guns at his disposal and the town sheriff in his pocket. In short, the odds are stacked in Hamilton's favor.

"Not for long," Cole responds and soon sets into motion a bloody war that claims numerous victims, guilty and innocent alike.

Before it's all over, Cole will be framed for murder, Elizabeth will be kidnapped and Robert Hamilton will have the satisfaction of defeating a formidable opponent within his grasp.

All that stands to prevent Hamilton from achieving his goal is Cole McCoskrie and the vengeful father of a young son cut down by a coward's gun.