<P>Arriving at homespun Stick City, con man extraordinaire and sometime gentleman James Fox, alias James Todd, embarks on the most dangerous swindle of his career. It seems easy enough for a man of his formidable talents -- and it might be his last chance to get himself a stake and get out of the game forever. All he has to do is convince small-town rancher Amos McRae that for a mere $60,000, the mineral spring on his land could be converted into a spa that would attract a railroad to Stick City.</P><P>When things begin to go wrong. Fox comes face to face with a situation that may require all of his wits and the smoothest acting job of his career. If he fails, it could cost him his life. Two mysterious deaths threaten to expose Fox's true identity -- and that could put him on the wrong end of a hangman's noose.</P>