Gaylord Riley set up a cattle range bordering Dark Canyon, a tough stretch of country. Rustlers used it to drive stolen cattle across the mountains. Desperate men skulked in it when they were in trouble. It was a road for bandit raids. ry When Gaylord Riley chooses the notorious Dark Canyon, the lair of ruthless outlaws, to set up his cattle ranch, he finds himself struggling to cope with rustlers, a deadly feud, bandit raids, and his own less-than-law-abiding...

Milo Talon, a drifter, signs up with the Stirrup-Iron ranch despite threats from a rival ranch owner and the discovery that the Stirrup-Iron's owner once cheated Milo's family.