In the first Quill Gordon mystery, Gordon, a San Francisco stockbroker and former college basketball star, goes on a fly-fishing vacation in the High Sierra and encounters more than he bargained for. A menacing "citizen militia," led by a former radio talk-show host, has taken over an alpine meadow and is stockpiling a massive cache of weapons. Ellen McHenry, a rancher's daughter to whom Gordon is attracted, is in the middle of a trial over a contested will that is tearing apart her family and threatening her father's legacy. When a murder is committed in cold blood and broad daylight, Ellen becomes a suspect, the militia ramps up its suspicious activities, and Gordon is drawn more deeply into the case — whether he wants to be or not.