Caleb Philips returns from the carnage of the Civil War to find his wife dead, his teenage son rebelling, and his native East Texas in turmoil. Before he can begin to rebuild, another returned veteran, ex-Confederate General turned Judge Matthew Ector deputizes him to hunt down the cold-blooded killers of several newly-freed slaves. In the meantime, Ector himself must deliver justice in a courtroom for an Indian chief and former rebel general, under the hostile gaze of the Union occupying authorities. In a rip-roaring tale stretching from the Piney Woods of East Texas to the barren desert of the Comancheria in New Mexico, author Micheal Jimerson weaves a powerful tale of love, loss, vengeance, and forgiveness.