Randy Waters, Chief Game Warden for the Trinidad, Colorado district is very unpopular with people he has arrested. Someone is sending death threats to him and to a Parole Officer in Canon City. They work together to try to find out what cases they have in common in an effort to thwart the death threats before they are carried out.
Waters enlists the help of his old friend Colorado Springs detective Don Pepper. The three officers work on the case until a part-time resident who fancies himself a helpful person in cases like this butts in.
Waters is shot at while investigating a preseason elk kill. It is obvious someone set up the scene deliberately to shoot Waters. Then the case becomes more sinister and everyone is working overtime to stop the threat.
The part-time resident uses fishing as a way to decompress and to think about possibilities all the while reminiscing about fishing trips with his father. As he explores the shadows on the Highway of Legends he comes up with some clues that help the investigation.
Suspects are eliminated one by one until the shooter designs a scenario to lead Waters into a last ditch shootout.