From the Cumberland Mountains of 1858 Kentucky comes a young man forced by circumstances to start killing men at an early age. Adam Payton thereafter cannot escape the continual life of a skilled gunman as he moves along the road to adulthood.

Later drawn into the Civil War, Payton and a small detachment of determined Confederate cavalry are constantly faced with challenges from Yankees, Indians, and each other. Ultimately the tightly-bonded knot of survivors overcome the odds against them, but after the war still find themselves facing an uncertain future.

Across the country and into the booming growth of the west, Payton looks for the personal peace and satisfaction that eventually comes within his grasp. The faith of friends and the love of a woman encourage his attempts to avoid the violence that always seems to find him, but