In the main office of the Santa Fe Railroad in St Louis, the vice president in charge of construction and expansion, looked up as his personal assistant entered the office. He had received a telegram which he wanted the man to read - news of the third of their construction superintendents to be killed in just two months - all during the intended construction of the railroad through Eagle Valley. A new construction superintendent is needed, but nobody wants the job in the Valley of Death, and so Alomar Cushing has determined that he is going to go and complete the job himself!