Paul Mueller returns from the brutal Civil War a jaded young man. He arrives in his Central Texas hometown to unimaginable grief: his parents have been brutally murdered and their home destroyed in the violent "Hoodoo" wars of Mason County. He seeks out the killers to exact a swift frontier justice and, in the process, becomes a wanted murderer. Paul flees to Mexico with a warrant on his head, where he lives under the alias Sam Smith in order to avoid detection. He spends years in exile before setting foot on American soil once again. He arrives in Arizona where he dreams of starting a ranch and living the remainder of his life in peace-but fate has other plans. Sam rides straight into a world of Apache ambushes, corrupt officials, and masked riders. He has no choice but to resort to his fast gun to stay alive and ultimately finds himself suspected of murder yet again. Even worse, he soon runs into someone from his past, and their meeting changes things. For better or for worse, Sam must now wholeheartedly commit to a course of action to achieve the redemption and future he desires.