Jess is tracking the murderous killer, Oden Colling. He proves to be as smart as he is dangerous. Smart enough that Jess decides to break off the hunt and go after the next man on his list, Linton Fish.
Meanwhile, Colling murders a woman in the town of Taylor, Texas. If that isn’t bad enough, Colling is telling everyone that he’s Jess Williams. The county sheriff puts out a warrant for Jess to be detained for questioning.
United States Marshal Frank Reedy sends John Bodine to Taylor to attempt to resolve the issue, but it only angers the county sheriff, who then offers a reward for Jess’s detention. Jess knows he’s innocent of the charge, but some of the other gunslingers are just looking for an excuse to go after him.
Jess is on the hunt for Lon Winter after leaving the town of Terrance, Texas. He rides into the town of Millbury, Texas, and accidentally runs into the Madsen brothers. One of them takes a hostage and bullets fly.
He tracks Winter to Gilead, where he meets a down-and-out young bounty hunter by the name of Vernon Garrison. Jess agrees to help him out temporarily. They team up to hunt Winter, which takes them to the town of Eldon, Texas.
While there, Jess receives a telegraph message from another bounty hunter he had worked with before, Ethan Stone. He has gotten himself locked up and charged with murder. Jess splits from Garrison to travel to Victorville to help Stone prove his innocence.
Then, Jess receives a message from United States Marshal Frank Reedy, informing him of a wanted man who hadn’t been seen in a long time. Reedy has a clue and Jess follows it, only to be led down another dangerous path.
Jess and Wildcat go separate ways after hunting down the Whittaker gang. He begins his hunt for the slippery killer, Buck Benson. He locates him in the town of Starkey, Texas, but he’s going by the name of Harry Black. He’s now married and has a young son. The people of the town have even elected him as the mayor and, by all accounts, he is a very generous man. Jess finds himself in a quandary regarding this man who has no memory of his past life.
Jess decides to hunt his next man, Rick Gale, but he receives an urgent message from the schoolmarm, Martha Heller. He drops everything and heads straight to Harrison, Texas. The marshal of the town ends up wounded badly and Jess pins on his United States Marshals badge to enforce the law there. Jess is in love with Martha but knows that he can’t act on his feelings until he hangs up his guns and retires.
Jess begins his hunt for the cagey and elusive killer, Rowdy Saltzman. As the hunt continues, he ends up riding closer to the border of New Mexico Territory.
At the same time, the beautiful and deadly female bounty hunter, Wildcat, chases down the Whittaker gang. She ends up heading east toward the border of Texas.
Their two paths cross again and they discover they’re both looking for some of the same outlaws. They team up once again to hunt down the rest of them together. The Whittaker gang has a plan, but will it succeed.
Jess’s next hunt leads him to the town of Buckner, Texas, where he meets a town marshal who is still grieving the loss of his wife. The marshal has turned to whiskey to drown his sorrows and finds himself in trouble, not able to perform his duties.
Feeling sorry for the marshal, Jess helps him out, trying to capture the men who committed a jailbreak in town. Jess has to deal with the marshal’s addiction as well as try to make sure it doesn’t get them both killed.
After a successful hunt, they return to Buckner, where Jess is faced with yet another man who wants him dead. The way the gunfight unfolds leaves Jess second-guessing his mission in life, which puts him in the most vulnerable position he’s ever been in.