Lance Kilkenny’s is believed to be the fastest gun in the West, but once the gunfight is over, he disappears. Most folks don’t even know what he looks like. Some time back, Mort Davis saved Kilkenny’s life after he was shot up. Now Davis needs Kilkenny’s help. He has filed a claim on a water hole near Lost Creek in the live oak country. The district is dominated by two wealthy cattlemen, Webb Steele and Chet Lord, each one claiming for himself the water hole that Davis occupies. Beautiful Nita Riordan owns the local saloon, and between her charms and the feuding ranchers, Lance Kilkenny has his work cut out for him.

Louis L’Amour (1908-1988), born in Jamestown, North Dakota, began his career as a writer in the 1940s and became a best-selling author of more than one hundred books that were authentic portrayals of frontier life. More than thirty of his books formed the basis of films. In 1983, he was awarded a National Gold Medal by the U.S. Congress for lifetime literary achievement, and in 1984 he received the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the nation.