by Elmore Leonard

The ambitions and desires of three men collide in this felicitous blend of Western and crime novel set in the 1930s. Carlos "Carl" Webster, an up-and-coming US marshal and crack shot, pursues Jack Belmont, an oilman’s bad-seed son who aspires to become America’s most notorious gangster; meanwhile, reporter Tony Antonelli writes up their exploits for True Detective Mystery magazine.