A horrified Steven Deschain learns that the deadly seeing sphere called Maerlyn's Grapefruit has been stolen from his chambers! Far worse, when he enters his wife's rooms to arrest her for the theft, his son Roland is standing over her body with a gun in his hand. The youngest gunslinger has perhaps committed the most hideous crime of all!

Roland has been arrested and imprisoned for the murder of his mother, Gabrielle. If he is found guilty, he will be hanged. Meanwhile, his father, Steven, Chris Johns and Robert Allgood have left Gilead in pursuit of the evil Marten Broadcloak and John Farson. But Marten has set a trap and the trio are surrounded by the horrifying Slow Mutants. Their death at the hands of these creatures seems imminent...

Amidst the schemes that have taken hold of Gilead, there sits the grieving Aileen Cort, the girl who wanted nothing more than to be a gunslinger - and to claim the heart of the stoic Roland Deschain. But what does the death of the man who raised her and Roland's involvement in his mother's murder mean for their budding romance and for Gilead itself?

Excellent art and truly in the spirit of the original concept, perhaps even more so. Nearing the end of this plot is the culmination of the nearly two years of story telling: the fall of Gilead is one aspect of the Dark Towers most readers really wanted from the novels' back story. We have it here before us with beautiful, moody art that clings to your eyes. While the tale is epic in both intent and length, it is not the same sort of tone as traditional epics are.

Farson's men have arrived! Every man and boy over the age of eleven is armed and prepared for battle. The women and children hide themselves deep within the city. And while the war rages, an injured Steven Deschain fights his way home through the wreckage with a singular determination.

It's the end of Gilead's blackest nightmare as Roland and his makeshift army defend the scant remains of the barony from dread Farson's men. But is this dark hour mere prelude to greater bloodshed--and betrayals--yet to come…? The road to BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL begins here!