Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer is an old-fashioned kind of guy: he prefers a long trail even when a train ticket can get him where he's going in one-tenth the time. His brother Big Red, on the other hand, wouldn't mind climbing down from his horse and onto a train once in a while if it'll give his saddle-sore rear end a rest. So when it's Old red who insists they sign on to guard the Pacific Express, despite a generations-old Amlingmeyer family distrust of the farm-stealin', cattle-killin', money-grubbin' railroads, Big Red is flummoxed. But as usual, he'll follow his ornery brother just about anywhere. So, it is that Big Red and Old Red find themselves trapped on a thousand tons of steam-driven steel, summiting the Sierras en route to San Francisco with a crafty gang of outlaws somewhere around the next bend, a baggage car jam-packed with deadly secrets, and a killer hidden somewhere amongst the colourful passengers. All of the wit, flavour, humour, and suspense that made "Holmes On The Range" one of the most dynamic mystery debuts in recent memory are evident in Steve Hockensmith's wonderful second novel.