The house on the hill in Merridan belonged to Captain Slocum. It was a house of mystery, protected by dogs that ran the grounds at night and armed men who allowed no visitors, even when the captain was away from the house. Don Grier was still a boy when he braved the terrors of the captain's domain to steal a watermelon. It made Don Grier a hero, and a hero has to be challenged. Don's father had been executed for killing his brother. Don cannot believe the charge is true and increasingly is determined that he must go to Chalmer's Creek, where the murder occurred, and learn the truth. On the way there Don is given training in the fighting skills he will need by the man who always guarded the captain's house on the hill, a man somehow enslaved to the captain. Once at Chalmer's Creek, Don finds himself playing a dual role: the hunter and the hunted.