LAW OF THE ROPEGideon Cooper Smith founded the Double Circle C Ranch in the shadow of Deadman Peak in the Colorado Rockies. Life wasn't easy, but with the help of some hired hands, he was able to live peacefully with his wife, Maggs, and young daughter, Annie. Then one day, one of the hired hands vanished with Annie's pony. Gideon had no choice but to set out after him, and trailed the man to a former mining town, where he was chased off by the hand's cigar-chomping mother, Ruth Logan, the owner of the local saloon. But then Gideon found out that a vigilante group had found the hand—and lynched him. And Gideon wasn't the only one who was upset. The news launched Ruth Logan on a mission of vengeance. As the violence erupted, Gideon knew he and his family would soon be fighting for their lives.