"There was a new freighting company in Nebraska City. Ajax Overland, owned by Trace Bovard, seemed to be gradually drawing a noose around the neck of the freighting business, reaching out to absorb all the other companies, trying to buy them out, trying to force them out. Bovard had a plan. He could underbid contracts and overpay teamsters until his was the only company left. Then he could make the money back quickly by cutting wages and raising prices when there was no competition. Kern Harlan was just returning from a freighting trip to Denver when he learned Uncle Billy McCloud had died and left the Rocky Mountain Freighting Company to Kern. It didn't take long for him to see what Bovard was doing. Small companies were losing hope and selling out to Ajax. But when Kern took a stand, stating that Rocky Mountain wouldn't quit, hope started to build. Then freight outfits started being attacked on the trail, men and animals killed, wagons burned. A showdown was building between Ajax and Rocky Mountain, between Trace and Kern. One thing was clear -- if Kern Harlan and Rocky Mountain Freighting Company went down, the rest would soon follow."-- Provided by publisher.