Abstract:
Ben and Nate Monroe are teenage brothers on a ranch, called Cold Creek, in southwestern Colorado. The year is 1880. Their parents are murdered while the boys are away hunting. The brothers vow to track down the killer.

Traveling the Old Spanish Trail is a world-weary gambler, Jason Quiller. On his way to Columbia (Telluride), his horse becomes lame. He stops at Cold Creek where a confrontation takes place that results in the death of the Monroe couple.

The experiences of the brothers, and of the gambler, are chronicled separately until they meet in Columbia.