This is a exploration of little-known Western frontier gunfighters. Billy Mulligan, Sam Temple, Peter Olsen, Joe Dye, Bob McFarlane and those responsible for the Rancheria killings are brought back through the pages and taking their stand in Californian history. The riotous lives of these unique collection of mean men with guns spill over the California frontier and rival the likes of "Wild Bill" Hickok, Billy the Kid, and the Earp Family.
Following stints as a Marine rifleman in the Korean War and an art director for an advertising firm, William B. Secrest started researching and writing Western history in the early 1960s. Early in his history career, Secrest realized how his home state has consistently been neglected in the Western genre and concentrated almost exclusively on early California subjects. He has produced hundreds of articles for such publications as Westways, Montana, True West, and The American West, while publishing seven monographs on early California themes.