They came from the sea, a former ship captain named Owen Bird who inherited a Texas ranch from his brother. A former pirate named "Black Terrance" Malone, who has arrrived in the once peaceful Rattlesnake Valley with a crew of sea dogs to do his dirty work. And dirty work it will be, as Black Terrance begins a campaign of thieving and threatening, even targeting Bird's beautiful young niece. Into this storm rides the Loner, Conrad Morgan, son of the legendary gunfighter Frank Morgan. The Loner sees what no one else does, a war born on the high seas and a third party is biding his time, waiting to strike a death blow on solid, bloody ground.