In the Fall of 1850, a drifter, heading north but going nowhere in particular, stops off in a remote frontier settlement called Shawnee Creek. The lone rider, a man down on his luck, has need of a blacksmith, his horse having thrown a shoe a couple of miles back on the trail. It's Saturday, the blacksmith is very busy and the stranger ends up shoeing his own horse and a couple of others besides. Standing six feet and three inches tall, the well-built man, who gives his name as one Jim Holt from Texas, makes a good impression on the owner of the forge, Clem Bushfield. Bushfield offers the stranger some part-time work. Having nowhere to go in a hurry and, with his poke almost empty, the newcomer accepts the offer. The settlement's newest resident proves to be a great asset to the community and, in time, goes on to become one of its most respected and influential citizens...what the people of Shawnee Creek don't know, however, is that the man they have come to know as Jim Holt is living a lie! He was given the name Jim Mahon at birth and he had a past that he was running away from. His past, nevertheless, was destined to catch up with him and when it did, he would have a woman by his side who had a former life that she too wanted to remain a secret. As things turned out, there was one thing that Katie McTavish couldn't keep hidden away from the good folk of Shawnee - her prowess with a Henry. The street of Shawnee would see a lot of blood spilt as a result, see men die - 'no sons o' bitches were going to kill her man'!!