Dr. Dean Chance was running away from his old life when his trail crossed Flintlock. But he tried to hang on to his old belief that there was no excuse--none--for killing another man.

Things got all mixed up, though, when Chance befriended Gordy Ryan and his sister-in-law, Jocelyn--and then got on the wrong side of Hunk Ashworth, the greedy rancher who was trying to grab the Ryans' land for himself. Suddenly the young doctor had to use his wits and his fists to save his friends' skins. And then, in a strange twist of fate for a man dedicated to preserving life, Chance was left with no choice but to deal out death himself. If it wasn't already too late.