Dahlgren Wallace

Gulf War veteran, river keeper and guide who, having lived life by accident, suddenly becomes the reluctant detective. Quick-witted, sharp-tongued and suffering from a mild case of Gulf War Syndrome, Dahlgren finds himself in the middle of two murders, a land war, livestock poaching, and, occasionally, the best pastrami sandwich in Bozeman.

Fred Lather

A landed billionaire media mogul without a trophy wife. Everything is a negotiation and a competition. The man who makes few missteps in business somehow manages to tick off an entire town, maybe even a state. It seems that no one wants him on the Carved L Ranch.

Elden Elderberry

A deceased billionaire who leaves a trophy wife a widow. An electrical engineer by training, he has unlocked the secrets of video compression. A Mormon who doesn't want children and is questioning his faith. He would have made a fine fisherman.

Susi Elderberry

The former Miss Utah looks great both in a pair of waders and a tiny black dress. The trophy wife who came with her own trophies.

Mordecai Shames

Taciturn ranch foreman who becomes even more silent. An enigmatic man whose Airstream houses original Remington bronzes and Charles Russell paintings. He routinely orders his drinks without uttering a word.

Chief of Police Horace Twain

The laconic policeman. His police force has its share of Barney Fifes. Dahlgren's sometime fishing buddy, sometime gin playing buddy, and full-time apologist.

Special Agent Sully Feib

The sleeping policeman. Why federal interest in a Montana murder? He appeals to Dahlgren's sense of purpose, trying to interject a mission into an otherwise haphazard life.

Sy Schwartzwald

Erstwhile professor of comparative religion and proprietor of The Cowboy Vey Deli. The only place in Bozeman to hear klezmer music, nosh on a bagel, and ingest chicken soup as a prescription. Travis McGee had his Meyer, Dahlgren has Sy.

General Dalrymple Ferns

Former Los Angeles Assistant District Attorney now Generalisimo of a cadre of miscreants. A trust funder who is nearly out of both funds and trust.

William Thayer Sherman, Esq.

His sports page is The Wall Street Journal. The man you want inside if you plan any inside trading.

Zed

Animal rights activist who graduates from spray painting fur coats to bombing Zodiac boats; the only animal species he doesn't like is man.

Rusty Tatum O'Neill

Weak armed ex-quarterback whose arm is strong enough to pull the tap at a cowboy bar.

Brewster Duff IV

Fourth generation rancher and living proof that the gene pool is shallow. Big small man in a small town.

Luther Kleinsasser

Farm boss of the Hutterite Colony. A dangerous man with a spoon.

Sarah Kleinsasser

Luther's granddaughter, an impish poacher.