SURVIVING THE PAST . . . Nick Graves' life is death. He sees that the newly deceased receive a well-dug final resting place and a well-carved tombstone. But he can't escape a past that won't stay buried. He's ridden with hell-raisers and killers, and earned a reputation as a dangerous man with a shooting iron. Now he's run into an old partner with a new scheme in the Dakota Territories: a foolproof plan that could earn Nick more money than he'd make in a decade of grave digging. Torn between his desire to secure a better future and his sense of loyalty, Nick feels the temptation for quick money pulling at him more strongly than ever. Nick's choice may turn out to be between living and dying—between a life on the run with a price on his head or an eternity underground—and he'll have to make it with his heart, his conscience . . . and his gun.