An itinerant cowboy is drafted into a deadly pursuit and must confront a brutal marshal, defy a murderous deputy, foil a clever con and expose a crooked sheriff or go to prison. 

SYNOPSIS:

Frank Whittaker, an average trail hand fresh off a cattle drive is caught up in an epic manhunt when he can identify Dandy Jim Beudreaux and his gang as the men who robbed the bank in Santa Fe. First as a member of a volunteer posse, then as a paid guide for U.S. Marshal Dayton Howard already in pursuit of Dandy Jim and taking over for the sheriff who has reached the end of his jurisdiction.

The pursuit is a game of chess played out between the doggedly determined Dayton Howard and the clever and cunning Dandy Jim Beudreaux. Each using their pieces (their men) to gain an advantage over the other, but the chessboard is as challenging as their opponents as it encompasses Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, winding through towns and landscapes that present obstacles and advantages to each.

Even the capture of Dandy Jim doesn’t end the game; they still have to get him back to face justice in Santa Fe, but Dayton Howard is mortally wounded and George Brimson, a dim-witted murdering racist with a badge, who killed two black soldiers must be held in Cimarron to face trial. This leaves Frank, the least capable, to finish the job.

What makes this script compelling are the characters. The complexity and development of Frank Whittaker is what sold the novel to Five Star Publishing and was responsible for a glowing analysis of the script. Dandy Jim Beudreaux does not truly come alive until it is just him and Frank, but when he does, it is a display of mental dominance over his prey, nearly accomplishing the escape before Frank is met by an ambitious and corrupt sheriff, a previous enemy, who has already hung innocent men for the robbery and murder to make himself look good.

After all that has gone on, the only way for justice to be done is for Frank to take Dandy Jim in to the county attorney and reveal the scandal with the most compelling evidence possible: the stolen money that only Frank possesses.

George Brimson is the true villain of the script and flowers with evil intent all along the story line.