Tilman Wagner"s peaceful family life in Buena Vista, Colorado, takes a sudden change when he accepts the offer of a sheriff"s badge to stop a fast-moving gang of robbers who strike and then disappear.Prosper Charbonneau, a powerful man with a cleaned-up past, now seeks political power and appears willing to kill for it. He grooms his nephew Marcel to take his place if and when he moves to the Denver statehouse, but Marcel has one fatal weakness. Prosper"s daughter Marie, a woman who outwardly has everything, is desperate for fulfillment as her life spirals into disappointments and unfulfilled dreams. She finds herself drawn to her cousin Marcel"s exciting plans. Tilman must ask for help from Marie"s husband, Jim Peel, who wanted the badge Tilman now wears. But Peel has turned to whiskey to drown his failure both as a husband and as a man. Deputy sheriff Butter Pegram stands firm when his old friend Tilman must choose between the law and a return to his old ways with a gun.Honor comes in many guises as the town of Buena Vista, Colorado, continues to grow, and Tilman Wagner and his friends help settle the west.