After leaving Hardy, Jess travels to the town of Sand, Texas, on the hunt for Arthur Hamm. He doesn’t find Hamm in Sand, but Jess is confronted by a man he doesn’t know.
The man accuses Jess of raping and killing his wife and challenges him to a gunfight in the middle of the street.
After Jess kills the man, he discovers that the man’s Colt Peacemaker is empty. The only clue Jess has is that the name of the man’s wife was Beatrice.
Armed with only the name and the manner in which Beatrice was murdered, he sets out to find out who the real killer is and make things right.
Along the way, he runs into Cindy, a very interesting woman.