Dancing Devil range

Two drifting cowhands, Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens, arrive at a desert railhead and are drawn into a murder that leads them to a nearby cattle country. Their investigation uncovers bank failure and widespread financial distress among ranchers, suspicious land and cattle transactions, and questions about a cattlemen’s association official. Moving from saloons and depots to ranches, they follow clues, face deception and violence, and confront the social and economic pressures bearing on the range. The narrative blends western atmosphere with investigative suspense and the added poignancy of a hard winter holiday season.