Cullen Murphy was forged in the fires of notorious towns, rough cattle drives, and brutal battlefields. And in a land where the strong prey on the weak, he's a law unto himself.

Orphaned as a child, Cullen Murphy battled against life's cruelties as he drifted from one unforgiving frontier town to the next. A hired hand at saloons and ranches, he was aimless until he met a drover who taught him to drive cattle, and inspired him to build a spread of his own on the San Saba River just outside of the small town of Newtown.

Then the war came and Cullen spent four years wearing Confederate gray, earning the rank of sergeant. Caught up in the viciousness and bloodshed, he became a hardened soldier—and a merciless killer. He fought in hard-won campaigns, gaining honor, only to become embittered by defeat. With the country in ruins and no family awaiting him, Cullen returned to Texas, only to find his home pillaged—and Newtown under siege.

With no marshal or sheriff to keep the peace, outlaws have taken over the town, harassing citizens, and threatening merchants. But when these gamblers and gunmen target Cullen, they incur the wrath of a man who doesn't need a badge to enforce his law.