J ohn Harkless is intelligent, fearless, strong, and gentle; but when provoked, he is a fierce fighter. He is also a crusading newspaper editor who within weeks of taking over the Carlow County Herald confronts the political boss of the region, Rodney McCune, with proof of his crookedness, and forces McCune out of politics. McCune threatens Harkless as he goes.

In college Harkless had been known as "the great John Harkless" — athlete, scholar, and above all a gentleman. In Platville where he has revived the moribund Carlow County Herald, Harkless ignores threats against his life, going on long solitary walks at night in the countryside. A number of men in the community have taken it upon themselves to follow him at a distance when he walks about nights. They have come to idolize him as does everyone who knows him. While a hero such as this would...