South Pass's Town Marshal, Jim Bowden, is legally restrained from investigating the murder of a family friend because the crime occurred outside of his legal jurisdiction. That is, restrained until his close friend, Territorial Marshal Phil Howard is ambushed and deputizes Bowden and his deputy Scratchy to investigate the crime. Freed from their legal restraints, Bowden and Scratchy begin their investigation. As usual, Bowden follows his hunches, and as usual, those hunches lead him into trouble. He's determined to gather enough evidence to arrest his evil suspects, the Striker brothers, and prosecute them according to the law of the territory, but, in the end the Striker brothers leave him no choice but to deliver Bowden's South Pass Justice!

South Pass's Marshal, Jim Bowden, is the unexpected target of Butch's revenge for his outlaw brother's death. As Marshal Bowden investigates the assassin's attempt on his life he finds himself smack dab in the middle of a Confederate conspiracy to overthrow the U nion. Colonel Walker and his Lieutenant known as "Spade," for his take no prisoner's style during the war, are die hard Confederate loyalists and are driven by their desire to conquer the U nion. Colonel Walker and Spade lead a rag tag army of ex-Confederate soldiers and outlaws robbing and stealing from the U .S. Government to finance their quest to resurrect the Confederate cause. Their lawless activities include stirring up trouble between the Indian Tribes and the Union Army. Bowden joins forces with the U. S. Army and Colonel's Tavaglione's State Militia. The question is will they be able to stop Colonel Walker and Spade from delivering the stolen rifles to the enraged Indian Tribes and prevent an all outwar?

Oklahoma is a plains state exemplifying the Middle American virtues of family, lodge, and church; a southern state in the path of the power shift from the indus-trial East to the energy-rich sunbelt; a western state of modern cowboys and rodeos. Small wonder its political culture is so varied. The authors of "Oklahoma Politics and Policies" contend that Oklahoma is a paradox--a state struggling for a clear sense of identity where the old and new vie for the allegiance of its citizens. David R. Morgan, Robert E. England, and George O. Humphreys examine the history of Oklahoma and the place of Native Americans in this former Indian Territory; the state's links to the federal government; its executive, legislative, and judicial systems; political parties and interest groups; local government; and the current policy issues that confront its citizens. They assess the attempts of Oklahomans to revive their economy. The 1990s will be bright, the authors sug-gest, if Oklahomans can put aside internal conflicts and the politics of negativism in approaching economic and social problems more pragmatically.