The sun has finally set on the violent hellstorm that fell on Dover Station, Montana, like a scourge. But when disaster returns, it falls to a lawman armed with a fistful of vengeance to make things right once more . . .

THE BURDEN OF THE BADGE

At long last, U.S. Marshal Aaron Mackey and Deputy Billy Sunday will see crime baron James Grant and his kill-crazy cronies stand trial for the mayhem and suffering they unleashed on the people of Dover Station. But as Montana Territory’s statehood is approaching, murdering devils like Grant can no longer be tolerated in positions of political power.

Or can they? Montana’s capital of Helena follows its own set of laws—laws that not only set Grant free, but give peacekeeping authority to a sadistic murdering gunslinger like Colonel Nathan Rigg, Mackey’s commanding officer during the war. The city’s leaders prefer keeping killers like Grant and Rigg under their thumbs.

Mackey knows there’s no controlling these bloodthirsty madmen. And if they think they’re above the law, then Mackey and Billy will just have to appoint themselves judge, jury, and executioners . . .

“The pace, from the opening pages to the final satisfying end, is unrelenting. An exceptional western novel.”—Historical Novels Review on Where the Bullets Fly

“A captivating western . . . the setting is harsh and evocative; the villain is sufficiently slimy and scheming; and even the violence is gratifying.”

—Booklist, STARRED review on Dark Territory