Texas Ranger Rory Yates is not keen for hero status -- unavoidable once his girlfriend, country singer Willow Dawes, writes a hit song about his bravery. Rory escapes his newfound fame when he's sent to the remote West Texas town of Rio Lobo, a municipality with two stoplights -- and now, according to the Chief of Police, one too many Texas Rangers.

Rio Lobo Detective Ariana Delgado is one who requested Rory, and the only person who believes a local councilwoman's seemingly accidental death is a murder. But then Rory uncovers a tangle of small-town secrets, favors, and lies as crooked as Texas law is straight and rigid. To get to the truth before more lives are lost, he's forced to take some liberties with the investigation. The next ballad of Rory Yates won't be as a hero, but as an outlaw.