Mobsters have arrived in the Okanagan Valley, importing marijuana, heroin, and a strong-arm racket that is robbing local farmers and orchardists of their livelihood. The only community free of illegal narcotic sales is Arawana, Devil Brigham's home town. Just returned from two weeks astride his stallion Rascal on a wearying journey through the Okanagan Highlands, Devil focuses on the only change in his town; a new house being built on Lakeview Loop near the town's only brothel, the Tumbledown Lakeside Hotel.
The newcomer is William 'Sailor Bill' Kennet, living with his wife and two young daughters in a cabin tent as his house is being constructed by an army of tradesmen. Devil's suspicions increase when he discovers Sailor Bill is surrounded by unsavoury and rough men. Detective Sergeant Samuel Locke, the regional commander of the British Columbia Provincial Police, leads a task force to eradicate the scourge of illegal narcotics.
He keeps Devil sidelined, angered by Devil's rogue nature. As local police detachments chip away at this flood of criminality under Locke's lead, the mobsters respond with escalating violence. Until Devil is let off his leash, the battle between law and order will escalate into a war.