Trouble comes to Mosely, Montana, from the outside world. When the residents of Mosely are left on their own, they can make things work. Sure, there's always been a militia operating up in the hills, but they were small-scale — just survivalists doing their thing — until organizers came in from out of state. Now Jericho Crewe and the rest of the sheriff's department are facing down a heavily armed band of fanatics, and the feds are busy elsewhere.

The odds are hopeless, but Jericho swore an oath to serve and protect the citizens of Mosely. He won't walk away from that, even if Wade Granger's begging him to run away somewhere and finally be together the way they always should have been.

But this time, it's Jericho who refuses to leave Mosely, even if staying kills him.