Douglas Venturelli

A girl is in love with a gas station attendant and sees him against her father's wishes. The father is the sheriff and shortly after a confrontation with the boy friend, he is killed by escaped convicts and the daughter is kidnapped. Everyone, including the deputy, is convinced that the boy friend committed the murder and ran away with the girl. This sets up a chase of the convicts by the boy friend and of the boy friend by the police.

Gunslinger Clayton Drumm is about to be hanged when he is given a chance to live if he agrees to murder Matthew, a miner who has steadfastly refused to sell his land to the railroad company. Matthew’s refusal is a major obstacle to the railroad’s plans for expansion.

The main character, an attorney by profession, spends endless hours with his terminally ill mother. Death is her only way out and he's the only one that can help.