A 16-year-old is to be hung for patricide when a whore, for reasons of her own, gets him out of jail. He flees to the town of Salt Flats, Kansas in the Flint Hills; becomes a trusted clerk in a store, later becomes a partner, marries the niece of the storekeeper, and becomes one of the most respected citizens of Salt Flats. He even serves a stint as Marshall and State Representative. Accurate and thrilling portrail of the wooly west in the latter part of the 19th centry through WWI. Very interesting.