<p>1872: The shattered South is struggling under the yoke of Reconstruction; the North has turned its attention to lands west of the mighty Mississippi. The United States is haunted by the blood that has been spilled and only a few are ready to stand against the coming darkness.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>During the War Elmore Stonebrook was a celebrated Sharpshooter for the Army of the Potomac. Known as God&rsquo;s Finger for the deadly accuracy of his rifle Stonebrook fought for freedom for all men but lost his way in the process.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Judge Willard Vernon Wallace once sat on the high bench in Louisiana. He loved the law; he served the law; but the law betrayed him. Now his gavel is the butt of his revolver and his courtroom is anywhere he can sling a rope over a tree branch.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the small Missouri town of Bitter they run into an old friend of the Judge&rsquo;s Isadora Van Horn whose ranch is threatened by a greedy landowner. He wants everything&mdash;her land her cattle her body&mdash;and he&rsquo;s willing to do anything to get what he wants.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Including making a deal with the Devil himself a deal that includes a wolf that walks on two legs . . .&nbsp;</p>