In 1877, two old friends, former members of Quantrell's Raiders, meet again at a bank in Hell, a town in far west Texas. One is there to rob the bank, the other-the town's sheriff-foils the robbery. In the pursuit that follows, the robber saves the sheriff after his horse falls, and the two of them become friends again. They decide to head west and find a place where they can live in peace. On their way, they pick up others who need to find a sanctuary-a six-foot-six widowed preacher and his twelve-year-old daughter from Indiana, a twenty-one-year-old black musician/physician's assistant from Boston who has come west to seek his fortune, a twenty-year-old Mexican girl who grew up as a cowhand on a ranch in Colorado, a six-month-old baby named Peter, and a Jersey cow named Pansy! On their journey they experience adventures (and misadventures) with Indians and outlaws and others. Finally, they arrive at the town where they will settle-New Canaan, in New Mexico territory. Problems remain, but a final gunfight with the Hank Dandy gang gives them rest-and romance-at the end of their journey from Hell.