The blizzard of 1871 blankets Southeast Kansas with a supernatural calm.
Despite the weather, the Bender Inn has established itself as an essential resting place for travelers heading west along the Osage Trail. The inn's beautiful hostess, Kate, has become an essential part of the thriving community, and young men flock to the Bender homestead to help the "low Dutch" family tend the cattle, erect a proper barn, and more in hopes of catching a glimpse of the comely proprietor.
But Kate's dark desires, the romance-minded Brockman's insistence that they marry, and the suspicious Pastor King sows doubt about Kate's virtue among his faithful flock, pushing Kate to the edge of her thin patience, threatening Pa Bender's criminal activities.
Too many people have gone missing, and the only thing they have in common is a planned overnight stay at the "Devil's Inn."
In chapter three, "Clairvoyance," a harrowing tale by a virtuous woman whose brush with evil and harried escape from the clutches of the murderous Bender family spread amongst the elders of the nearby settlement. Pastor King confronts Kate, causing her to rush her next kill, a man travelling alone to seek his fortune in California.
In chapter four, "Escalation," a federal marshal discoveries two frozen bodies on the prairie, victims of John Bender, Jr.'s deadly hammer. Meanwhile, George Lochner, a well-respected gentleman, and his daughter journey down the Osage Trail, intent on starting a new life after the death of his wife. The Bender Inn, the only light for miles, lures the weary, broken family to a fateful confrontation.
This deluxe magazine collects two chapters originally presented in Saddlebag Dispatches in one handsome volume!
