Sam Teacher is thought of as a gunman and killer but really has not been guilty of many of the crimes. The governor offers him amnesty if he will convince a very wealthy cattleman to sell land for the railroad. When he gets a job at the man's ranch, the first day he has to prevent the owner's son from beating a horse. He also runs into the owner's spoiled daughter.

When the owner's son is murdered, Sam becomes the main suspect. Arrested frequently, Sam organizes escapes from prison so he can track down the killers of the son and stop his rival, Santee Bales from stealing the land from the cattlemen. which including using dynamite to move the course of a river and dumping gold ore into the river to attract prospectors so the river could not be returned to its original course.

This was a fast moving novel with a reasonably realistic plot. ( )