Billy Holme was a hardened Civil War veteran on the Union side who later became quartermaster of Fort Laramie. After Chayton Black first meets him, they protect miners and settlers from Sioux raids successfully over the length of a year before parting ways. Ten years later, Chayton meets again with Holme (now a sheriff), who has discovered gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota and offers Chayton a partnership in the mine. When the Americans claim this gold, tensions between the Sioux and American settlers erupt after the miners continue to invade Sioux lands to strip them of their resources. At first, Chayton allies with Holme, but, when Holme asks Chayton to raid a Sioux village and kill even women and children, Chayton refuses after realizing that his old friend has become corrupt and