It was just one rifle among hundreds like it, but some said its unusual serial number caused it to be cursed. Some said it never should have been made; if indeed it was real and not just another spooky myth soldiers told each other in hushed tones about around their campfires. Some say it's haunted if it still exists more than 150 years after its creation, and it should stay where history and the fates have hidden it. Some people would kill to own it, and others would kill to see that no one ever owns it again.Even though he's considered among the nation's top authors and experts on the commercial antiques and collectibles markets, Peyton Locke is always broke. When a fabulously wealthy and passionate, and somewhat eccentric, collector of unusual antiquities hires Peyton to find a legendary Model 1860 Henry rifle, serial number 401, Peyton eagerly accepts. But an another rich collector known to be downright ruthless in getting what he wants, especially when the other billionaire wants something specific, immediately insists on a similar arrangement, and Peyton is reluctantly drawn into the middle of their personal war. Needing help, he brings in antiques research specialist, and his former girlfriend, Dana Casper to assist him in the search.The two are drawn into a meticulous hunt through history as they come ever closer to the near-mythical rifle, while walking a fine line between pleasing the two competing collectors and a deadly international dealer in black market antiquities. A series of decapitated corpses, a "voodoo queen" who passes on search tips from the dead, a lady cop with a crush on Peyton, a mysterious guardian angel and a grandmotherly receiver of stolen goods help keep the search going. If Peyton and Dana survive the hunt, they might get to decide just who among the powerful and dangerous people wanting Henry 401 will actually get it.