Book I of The Outlaw Gospel follows seventeen-year-old Asa Hendricks on a relentless hunt for Luis "The King" Reyes, the outlaw he believes murdered his mother. Guided by U.S. Marshal Matthew Selleck and shadowed by the enigmatic gaucho Mart n Fierro, Asa leaves the safety of his uncle's ranch and rides into a brutal desert world where justice is earned at the point of a gun. From the rough streets of Folklore to the borderland towns of Justicia and Las Fuentes, Asa faces ambushes, duels, and a showdown at Hangman's Canyon. Along the way he finds an unexpected ally in Leona Montenegro and discovers the cost of vengeance and the weight of becoming a lawman. When the gunsmoke clears, a newspaper hails Asa as a newly sworn marshal after a deadly shootout with Reyes, but the truth is more complicated. The King's Mark opens a sweeping Western saga about grit, loyalty, and the choice between the badge and the blood feud.