When his friend Peralta, newly sworn in as sheriff, is shot by a sniper, historian-turned-deputy-sheriff David Mapstone can’t keep a cool, academic distance. And he’d better not: while Peralta lies comatose in the hospital, the powers-that-be appoint Mapstone acting Sheriff in his place. Peralta feels unqualified, but he’s the only person whose temporary appointment won’t infuriate all the other candidates who want the Sheriff’s position permanently. Meanwhile, a cryptic note scrawled by Peralta before the shooting forces Mapstone to confront his own personal history, which has unwittingly drawn him into danger. As Mapstone discovers, the past has deadly consequences, and the mean streets of the New West have never been more sinister.