Jacob Chance, U.S. Marshal

Land law, water rights, deeds of ownership? Boring. Unless of course, people are shooting at you because of them. The Civil War has disrupted thousands of lives, including that of Sarah Jackson, whose husband was killed for not joining the Confederate Army in Georgia. Sarah and her daughter flee to Nevada Territory and are eligible for homestead rights. After claiming her one hundred sixty acres in the lush Golden Valley, her world crumbles again.

Banker Preston Miller claims he owns the entire Golden Valley and all the water in the Good Hope River. Jackson cries foul in a letter to the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco, and Jacob Chance, U.S. Marshal rides to Preston, Nevada Territory to "settle this little land dispute."

He finds many in the town fear for their lives and livelihood, but it takes just a few shots from big guns to convince them to back the marshal. Lives are lost, buildings are burned, the town itself is in jeopardy, and the U.S. Marshal finds himself up against an army. Anarchy is the rule in the Golden Valley.

Fighting the bad guys is hard enough, he also finds himself fascinated by the daughter of one of the ranchers whose property he is trying to save. Will the town survive? Will the ranches survive? Is romance in the air? All the answers are inside these covers.