Three convicts escape into a vast desert wasteland. Pratt is assigned to bring them back. By himself. The law has not quite brought complete order to this half of the planet so Pratt is very much on his own. There are good people and some very nasty people. His job is to deal with both. Recently, widowed, alone in a hostile environment, the marshal will just have to do the best he can. His best is very good, but sometimes very good isn't good enough.
