When Range Detective Rance Dehner stops to make camp he hears a strange sound coming from the surrounding brush. A young girl of about five is hiding there, unable to speak and her eyes reflecting terror. Within minutes, someone tries to ambush both Dehner and the child. Bullets continue to fly as Dehner discovers that the child has witnessed her parents' murder and that the horrifying experience has traumatized her into silence. The detective's investigation leads him into a bizarre small-town race for mayor and a whirlpool of violence related to the brutal killing of the girl's parents. Can Dehner discover the shocking truth behind the murders before a town destroys itself?
