Forget Deadwood, Dodge, and Tombstone, the biggest, baddest boomtown of
the 1880s was San Diego, California. The attraction wasn't gold or
silver but cheap land, the promise of an oceanfront paradise where it
never snows and rarely rains, and the too-good-to-be-true deals offered
by local real estate merchants. In the wake of bona fide settlers came
the hucksters, con artists, and snake oil vendors--so many flimflam men
(and women) that those duped called the town "Scam Diego." Abetting the
crime and chaos was the nearby Mexican border, a convenient refuge for
the rustlers, ex-Rebels, and banditos who floated back and forth across
the unmarked frontier.
Caught up in this perfect storm are two men: U.S. Marshal Cradoc
Bradshaw and San Diego Times reporter Nicholas Pinder. Best friends
growing up, Bradshaw and Pinder are now sworn enemies--all because of a
woman. Having once cooperated to catch bad guys, Bradshaw and Pinder now
compete--Pinder with his quill pen or Bradshaw with his sawed-off
shotgun and Colt single action Army revolver. The competition heats up
when someone starts killing the town's movers and shakers. As the bodies
pile up, the question becomes which of the former friends will track
down the killer first?
