Two years in prison had changed Vern Balance from an easy-going drifter with a liking for cards and liquor, to a hard, bitter man. Still, trouble was the last thing he was looking for as he rode to Ellsworth, Kansas to collect an old debt that could help him start over. But trouble was what he did find, and it occurred to Vern that violence might be as hard to escape as the memory of his time in prison.