1863: Sergeant Matthew Slade of the Illinois 6th Cavalry brigade must battle for his life during the siege of Port Hudson when a Rebel bullet knocks him out of the saddle and into a deadly swamp! Only with the help of freed slave Horatio 'Hojo' Johnson does he live to fight and ride another day. Fourteen years later, Slade's joined and left the Pinkertons. He's arrived in the bustling post-Gold Rush San Francisco to start a new life with Molly B. Denim and Captain Amos Harding. All seems tranquil...until Slade receives a call for help. A call which will take him back to the steamy bayous and dirt-poor towns of 1870's Louisiana. A call which will bring back echoes of Slade's past...but this time with deadly results!