Adult situation. Do not read if this topic and romantic interludes are offensive to you. "Course, I've known Slim my whole life. He's comfortable as an old pair of boots. But his hired man. . . that's another matter completely."

When a Texas cow outfit tries to push its way into the Laramie Basin, the homesteaders and small ranchers must look for leadership to Matt Sherman, his grown son Slim, and a wandering Texas gunfighter named Jess Harper who's been taken in by their family.

Trapped in the ranchhouse by winter's first serious snowstorm, Slim, Jonesy, and Andy fight to keep Jess alive when he's stricken with a mysterious fever.