Henry Dowland is a Confederate vetern, scarred by war and grieving the murder of his family at the hands of Sherman's soldiers. While fleeing his demons, he rescues a boy, Joe, from the Willis gang, a band of outlaws running liquor to the workers on the Transcontinental Railroad. Joe reminds Dowland of himself, a lost soul searching for home. But what good can two rootless wanderers do for each other? More than watching each other's back, that is, and that might have to be enough. Caught between the Willises and the Great Salt Lake, Dowland and Joe have to fight their way clear to saving a town. . . And themselves.