Pratt is enlisted by a helpless group of town folk to once again help them, against a powerful landowner and the town’s sheriff in her pocket.

A well known bank robber seeks Pratt's help in clearing his name of false murder charges.

To promote his newest book, Pratt is asked to serve as a buffalo hunting guide for a group of German publishers who believe he actually is the heroic character, Nicodemus Legend. Repelled by the notion of hunting, he and Bartok, along with some Arapaho Indians, devise a mythical, mechanical buffalo ""monster"" to ward off the hunters—but only attract more to the area.

While making a promotional ""film"" of Nicodemus Legend for the newly invented Zoetrope, Pratt and Bartok find a clue that leads them into the convoluted folds of the oldest mystery in Arapaho County.