Gus Ritter is on the trail of the man who killed his brother in a shoot out and finds himself in a tavern in the town of Archangel. While there he sees a padre, Father Merry, beating a man half to death with the reason for the assault being the rape of a thirteen year old. But the man’s father, Silas Scrimshaw, runs the local cattle ranch, is a law unto himself, and the town expects the group to take their revenge and string the Father Merry up. While Silas thinks his son has earned the beating, his other sons still want revenge for the disrespect they feel has been shown to their family and ride out in pursuit. But when Ritter finds out that the he may have information on the man he is looking for, he sets out to protect him for long enough to get the information he so desires. But Father Perry is protecting the women affected by the assault and so Ritter offers to protect them long enough to escape in return for the information. But before they can leave the homestead, Scrimshaw’s men arrive to gain their revenge.

This is a short, but fairly brutal showing of the Old West, where lawlessness was only tamed by the use of a gun. The story covers two main plots both intertwined with each other after a fashion. The first is the hunt for the murderer and the second the more recent rape. Both events may have occurred in the past, but they are given time for the repercussions to unfold and the effect that a lack of law had on both events. This gives the story a high body count as people are killed in nearly every confrontation. The detail between staying and running is also covered and the effects it will have on the different people. The characters fit well into this world, they all have a troubled past and are prepared to make tough decisions each time to try and survive. For the antagonists, their actions and attitude that the law does not apply them, drives their actions and hatred towards anyone who crosses them. The story is very descriptive giving the desolate feeling of town and the how the people survive there, and the changing viewpoints bring the differing actions to life. It also helps the ebb and flow of the story as it moves towards it’s climax.

The formatting and grammar are fine, although there are a couple of spelling mistakes. There is also a link to the next story in the series if you enjoy it and want to find out what happens next.

Overall, it’s a hard-hitting and intense western, not shying away from what men and women would do if they had either no choice or no compunction to follow the law.