Tap Duvarney lost his innocence in the War Between the States, and then put his skills to the test as a soldier in the frontier army. Now he has settled on the Texas coast, working a ranch as the partner of his old friend Tom Kittery - and finding himself in the middle of a feud between Kittery and the neighboring Munson family. Around Matagorda Island, most people are either backing the Munsons or remaining silent. But the danger from outside Kittery's...

It was no crime for a young cowboy to want to talk to a pretty girl, but that was what got Tom Lundy killed. The hard men of the Tumbling B, who had survived stampede and Kiowa lance to drive their herd up from Big Bend country, wanted to burn the town down. But Kate Lundy, the Tumbling B's owner, had a better plan. Calling on dozens of seasoned fighters, Kate aimed to strangle the town that lived off cowboy money but had no use for the Texans themselves....