Scarred by the Civil War, now a loner by choice, Missouri-born Jack Ballard rides the West in search of trouble. Sometimes he's able to stop it from hurting innocent people-and sometimes he causes it. It can't be helped, though. He is a good man with a fast gun, and in West Texas in the late 1800's, trouble lies around every bend. Only he and his filed-down .44-40 Colt can stop it.