Upon their return from an assignment in Marfa, Texas, Deputies Simon Shay and Lon Dahl find a note from Simon's common-law wife, Julia, stating that she is leaving him for another man. The man is a Cavalry Officer who has deserted his post and his commission to live a more leisurely life with his wealthy parents in Louisiana. Julia, pregnant with his child, jumps at the chance herself. After a less-than-productive encounter with the new Commanding Officer at Fort Bliss, Frank Bass conducts his own investigation into the deserter. He decides to assign Dahl and Shay to track the couple down and return both to El Paso, one to face justice, the other to face her future. Their pursuit takes the young deputies on a thousand-mile trek across Texas and proves to be as much a bonding experience as a manhunt. From legendary Cow Towns to railroad crossroads and all the whistle stops in between, the two men, one Black, one White, learn to trust one another in a connection that's as strong as any brother's could be. This is the first in the Frank Bass Frontier Justice series, and Deputies Dahl and Shay will certainly return.