Young Matthew O 'Malley returns from a day of hunting to find his mother killed and his family farm in flames. He leaves for the plains of Kansas, determined to seek blood and revenge. Blood he finds, indeed. He joins an unusual band of men who want a quiet place where they can live and forget the war. But there is nothing quiet about Kansas just after the Civil War. Matthew and his new friends create the first Texas cattle drive, build a hotel, own a farm, teach school, and fight to the death for what is theirs. Then Matt meets Lee. She can drive a stagecoach, shoot with either hand, and ride a wild horse.

When Falcon Beck, Matt's blood enemy, swears to have Lee as his own, Matthew faces a test of courage and commitment that will determine whether he lives or dies.