"Texas Ranger Luke Caldwell and his young partner, Bobby Howell, have destroyed the outlaw gang that was preying on visitors to Lajitas, deep in the Big Bend country of Texas. However, that's not the end of their problems, it's just the beginning. With all of West Texas rife with outlaws of all stripes, they still have their work cut out for them. When they come across a train of freight wagons being attacked by ambushers, they attempt to help fight off the raiders -- only to have the teamsters turn against them and help the outlaws gun down the Rangers! Once the fight is finished, the reason becomes apparent when Luke and Bobby search the contents of the wagons, which were loaded with opium and mescal being smuggled from Mexico into the United States. Now, in addition to running down the run-of-the-mill desperadoes and renegades plaguing the Big Bend, they have to uncover whoever is the brains behind this smuggling operation. Plenty of blood will be spilled in their quest, and the odds are definitely in the outlaws' favor. Whether the Rangers survive is not so much in question as to when and where they will die, and whether or not their bodies will ever be found." -- Back cover.