Mankind's only interstellar colony has been trapped on a sideways planet for the last five hundred years.  Alex Vonn, a young man with a talent for irritating others, becomes Marshal Hugh Redland's newest deputy. Will this be an opportunity to make a difference in the world, or is he just being played as a pawn in a far-reaching scheme for global dominance? Will his efforts even matter on a planet that grows increasingly hostile to human life? The answers lie on a mountainous field of boulders at the edge of the civilized world.

Alex Vonn, now a seasoned marshal, hunts killers for a living. If only life were that simple.  Old enemies want to team up. Old friends want him out of the picture.  Human technology fails and strange alien tech appears.  An escaped psychopath leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. Is he running away, or luring his pursuers into a trap? Is he somehow connected to the increased geologic devastation across the whole planet? Before Alex can find answers, he'll have to decide whom he can trust.