The town of Rafter Crossing had been simmering for some time when Mike Shevlin rode in. The quiet ranching community has turned into a booming mining town, and the newfound wealth has made Rafter Crossing anything but peaceful. The cattlemen are bound and determined to close down the mines because they're poisoning the range water. And the miners are stealing the high-grade ore that rightfully belongs to Laine Tennison. Mike Shevlin's mission is to get Laine's ore back. The smell of fear and greed is thick in the air. The rumor circulating around was that Eli Patterson, a good man, was killed in a gunfight. But Mike Shevlin knew that wasn't true. Patterson had been like a father to Mike, and he was a Quaker -- committed to non-violence. As Mike tries to unravel the mystery of Patterson's death, he's led deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that controls not only the fate of Rafter Crossing, but the heart of a beautiful, yet tormented, young woman.