Ranz Tanner is down to six cents and a lame horse when he defends a young Mexican girl in a cantina fight in the Arizona Territory; he shoots a man in self-defense and is promptly sentenced to five years in Yuma Prison. His folks should have named him Bad Luck Tanner--every chance that comes his way, he just naturally seems to pick the wrong side.

He can't even get to jail uneventfully. When the man driving the prison wagon kills Stocker MacDermit, the only son of the wealthiest man in Adobe Falls, it triggers a bloody range war, and Ranz lands right in the middle. The driver is killed by Duke MacDermit's men, who would gladly pin a second murder on Ranz. But rather than run, Ranz returns to Adobe Falls, where the desperate towns-people beg him for help. The grief-blinded MacDermit has vowed to destroy the entire town, and they need someone with Ranz's know-how to lead their defense. It's his last chance to turn his life around, but this time, a mistake could be fatal...