"Simon Steele and his friend, Buell Mace, leave home at nineteen; Simon because there's no reason to stay and Buell because there's every reason to run. At a roadhouse outside Fort Laramie, Wyoming Territory, where there are few rules and fewer consequences for breaking one, Simon finds work as the supply man and Buell as an enforcer. Hanging on to his past, Simon conflicts with the pragmatic and volatile Buell. He seeks advice and comfort, but it's not enough: Simon succumbs to the climate of evil with an unprecedented act of violence." -- From publisher's description.