John Holmes Johnson had been in the United States for thirteen years, and still he missed his native England. He loved his foster brother and the 500 acres of prime Missouri land that they owned jointly. He nevertheless pondered returning to his birthplace. But then, he met Amanda Jane Allen and he dared to dream of marriage and having a family. It was not to be. Murder intruded on their plans and shattered more than his right leg. One death followed another in a succession of destruction. His faith was shaken when his fiance became a target. Putting aside all personal plans, he laid his own life on the line more than once in an effort to solve a perplexing series of killings that was systematically eliminating all the prime suspects. His was a quest for justice tinged by a desperate need for revenge. Pitting his skill against an evil adversary that was bent on destroying him, he very nearly loses the battle.