"Ray Lanier was broke and mortgaged to the hilt, yet he was still lord of the Lonely Valley who rode as king over vast ranchlands. When Milo Landrum learned that there was half a million dollars worth of unexploited water rights on Ray's ranch, he orchestrated a scheme to claim some of it for himself. What Milo didn't understand was the Lonely Valley had always been a bad place for intruders--that Ray would hire thugs and gunmen to protect what was his. Janet Corliss halted her cross-country jaunt to Modoc City and sprang to the aid of the young fellow who had ducked under a rain of bullets, which is how Ray Lanier got himself a trained nurse and staunch ally. As an outcast and potential killer, Ray felt he could expect no more. It never occurred to him that any woman would understand what Lonely Valley meant to a Lanier ..."--Publisher's description.