Book description
Spring has finally come to Saddlestring, Wyoming, and game warden
Joe Pickett is relieved the long, harsh winter is over. However, a
dark cloud threatens to spoil the milder weather. Local ranch owner
and matriarch Opal Scarlett has vanished under suspicious
circumstances. Two of her sons, Hank and Arlen, are battling for
control of their mother's multi-million-dollar empire, and their
bitter fight threatens to tear the whole town apart. Everyone is so
caught up in the brothers' battle that they seem to have forgotten
that Opal is still missing. Joe is convinced, though, that one of the
brothers murdered their mother. Determined to uncover the truth, he is
attacked and nearly beaten to death by Hank Scarlett's new right-hand
man on the ranch - a recently arrived stranger who looks eerily
familiar... A series of threatening messages and attempts to sabotage
Joe's career follow. At first, he thinks the attacks are connected
with his investigation of Opal's disappearance, but he soon learns
that someone else is after him - someone with a very personal grudge
who wants to make Joe pay... and pay dearly.
