Sheriff Kyle of Deadeye, Nevada has traveled to the nation's capital to personally bring evidence against one of the state's wealthiest copper kings. But instead of giving his findings to the senator he's supposed to meet, Kyle discovers a trail of blood moments before he's knocked unconscious.

Kyle awakens to the flashing bulbs of reporters and harsh voices of police demanding to know why he's killed the popular politician. Things look particularly bleak—he's got no alibi, no memory of who knocked him out, and his five-inch knife is sticking out of the corpse—casting all suspicions his way.