Old Roderick Vail, boss of the fabulous Black Diamond spread, was a killer with a long record of violence. He tried everything he could to make his son just as ruthless and tough a killer as he was--though all the past had ever brought him was bitter hatred and a world full of enemies. But Lee Vail wasn't having any of it. He wouldn't be a gunman. But his father was determined and pushed him hard. He called Lee a coward and prodded until he had Lee backed up against the proverbial wall. And that's when Lee stood up! He answered Roderick's taunts. Then he pulled his gun and mobbed in to fight, to kill, perhaps even to die.