Bonita Valdez Rand has escaped from her brother's custody in Mexico and now rides into New Mexico to kill Chad Donovan, the man responsible for her late husband's death and for ruining her life.

On the stagecoach, she meets Andrew Hilgendorf, a man searching for his notorious older brother Nick Doran at Donovans Bar CD ranch, a gathering place for outlaws.

There is a lot of tension leading to a major gunfight involving most of the characters in the book, including Bonita's brother, who has followed her from Mexico City.

With the help of Nick and Andrew, Bonita kills her brother and Donovan and Donovan's son Kerwin. The Bar CD outlaws are killed or captured by lawmen, including Nick, who is alive but seriously wounded and in the custody of Bob Fleming, a Texas Ranger friend of Andrew's.