Charlotte Beckford watched helplessly as the man she loved was gunned down in the middle of a dusty Kansas street. In another month, they would have married. Now, as she knelt and cradled Adam's broken body, she screamed hysterically at his murderer, swearing that she would see him hang. But Bowie Rayburn laughed at her threat, her words echoing behind him as he rode away unconcerned. After all, he thought, what could she do? She was just a girl. Shadow of the Rope is a tale of grief, revenge, love, and forgiveness played out across the rolling plains of the frontier West. It is also a story of ultimate regret and the healing solace of time. 51,000 words