To Hell or the Pecos, a novel

Tom Rowden has been riding away from the Pecos River for twenty years, plagued by the haunting image of his wife, Sarah, the second before he killed her. Now, he is dead-set on returning to her unmarked grave above the river to make one final atonement. His journey is interrupted when a group of Mexican bandits burn down the 7L’s ranch house, kill the ranch boss, and rape and abduct his daughter, Liz Anne. The 7L’s greenhorn wagon boss, Jess Graham, desperately begs for Tom’s help in rescuing Liz Anne, the girl Jess loves. Tom obliges and sets out with Jess and his posse of ranch hands through a hellish desert landscape toward the Pecos River. For Jess, it is his first journey through the desert; Tom hopes it is his last.