A novel set in the glory days of the Hollywood western. One actor is an ex-gunslinger, a former Texas Ranger, and tough private detective. He is hired by a film studio to take a spoiled New York actor to a ranch in Texas and turn him into a credible cowboy star. Once at the ranch in Texas, the situation is complicated when a ranch hand turns up dead. The local sheriff suspects a Native American actor and so the tough-guy detective takes on the case.