When he inherits his parents' ranch, a notorious former resident of Toussaint comes home to make trouble for Du Pré For four generations, the Messmers have raised cattle in the rough country of eastern Montana. When the current owners die in a motor home accident, they leave the ranch to their son-an ominous development for everyone in the area, both human and bovine. Larry Messmer left Toussaint in the 1980s, when he got in trouble for bludgeoning...

When a mysterious cult moves in on the outskirts of Toussaint, it's up to Du Pré to investigate whether the members are merely eccentric-or murderous The Eides have owned cattle in Montana since 1882, but a few days after they pull up stakes and sell their property, their homestead goes up in flames. When Gabriel Du Pré arrives on scene, nothing is left but the ashes. A serene young man appears, insisting that the fires were set purposefully and...