Descended from a long line of ramblers and rogues, Jack Picaro came to America to seek his fortune. But after killing his best friend in a drunken duel, the apprentice gunsmith flees westward, leaving behind children he does not know, Gus and April. As Jack ventures up the Missouri River, he finds an unspoiled land where a man can live free—and also be attacked by an Arikara war party. His rifle stolen in the bloody skirmish, Jack sets out alone to reclaim it. His wild escapade ends in a fight to the death with a legendary Crow warrior named Standing Wolf. So begins a fateful epic search across the last frontiers of the untamed West. From the muddy banks of the Mississippi to the shining peaks of the Rockies, Jack Picaro will leave a trail of clues for an abandoned son, Gus, to find him: a famous gunsmith who will make history with a weapon of his own design—and forged a legend that would be passed down for generations. This is the story of ... THE GHOST RIFLE

Ten years pass until Jack hears the bell chime of his lost Ghost Rifle—the firearm he invented that never missed. To retrieve his deadly property, he travels deep into Lakota territory, facing down old enemies and resuming old sinful habits. Jack is unaware of a man pursuing him from St. Louis. They have never met, but the stranger has a personal score to settle.