Cliff Monroe came to Painted Springs to be the County Health Officer. He had hardly stepped off the stagecoach when a fusillate of shots rang out...and he had his first patient. It was just the latest violence in a fierce feud between cattlemen and sheepmen that was raging in the territory. The Sheriff refused to step in the violent fray, claiming "neutrality," and Cliff tried to follow his example, but he fell in love with Nancy Starweather, daughter of the sheepmen's leader, which made that a hard line to walk. The only answer was to use his wits, his guns, and his tenacity to end the feud himself. The book was author James Rubels' first published novel, released in 1934, and was followed by two sequels (The Medico Rides and The Medico on the Trail) under his own name and one (The Doctor of the West), strangely, under the pseudonym "Mason Macrae" released in the UK. The Medico of the Painted Springs, along with the first two sequels, were filmed in 1941 and starred Charles Starrett.