An undertaker with a past he'd rather forget, Nick Graves has finally found some measure of peace and happiness in the small town of Ocean on the edge of the desert. Others, however, are nowhere near as lucky--particularly rancher Joseph Van Meter, a good man whose whole family is mercilessly slaughtered by marauding outlaws. Now, more than anything, Van Meter wants blood vengeance . . . and he wants Nick Graves to be his killer angel. Nick's seen a lot of death--and has dispensed a fair share himself--and he recognizes the pain that's eating Joseph alive. But just as important as seeing justice done, Nick wants to save the broken soul who rides beside him. Because when a man's got nothing to lose, he tends to get crazy--and the innocent as well as the deserving often wind up dead.