Joseph A. West

"Drill or be drilled. The streets of Green Meadow, Oklahoma, are flowing red with blood. At the scene of every grisly murder is a threatening message: Get out! A mysterious villain known as the Fat Man wants the black gold hidden beneath the town, and he's willing to wipe out every man, woman, and child to get it."--P. of cover.

Requiem, formally known as Apache Creek, is a town that has seen better days. After a plague of cholera swept through the streets, the only folks left behind are ghosts, including Marshal Sam Pace. Even though he's still living and breathing, three years of solitude have turned Sam into a phantom - a lonely man who's more than a little touched in the head. But when a woman on the run stumbles into Requiem, Sam suddenly finds a purpose in life. As Jess Leslie's murderous pursuers track her to the town, the former lawman must protect her and make use of gunslinger skills long out of use....