When Joe Spearman sees a face from the past, he gets a shock. It's the face of a killer. It is also someone who now has a good deal of influence and power in the little town of Ox Crossing. Someone who won't want his past catching up with him. However, before Joe can do anything about his discovery, the man he has recognized acts quickly and Joe is silenced. Permanently. It is then up to his old army buddy, Nat Leach, to discover the identity of the person behind Joe's murder. But Nat is pursuing his own personal mission: tracking down the men who slaughtered two members of his family while he was away fighting a war. And he's getting close to finding them, even though they, too, have new identities. Nat soon learns that he has taken on two perilous quests, and that he could end up like his old army buddy. Dead.