Based on true events, Iniquities of Gulch Fork, by Bob Smith and Sara Rhodes, tells the story of Rob Dean, a Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD and severe neuropathy caused by Agent Orange. Rob lives alone with his beloved cat, Charlie, and initially trusts Smoky Jones, a local man who offers to help Rob purchase cows for his pasture. Too disabled to go to the pasture himself, Rob depends on Smoky to keep records of the livestock. But when Rob is suddenly taken to the hospital, Smoky wants out of the partnership. Suspicious, Rob tells his home nurse, Samantha Caminos, of his concerns. Samantha ventures to Smoky’s house to spy and nearly gets shot by him. Smoky turns out to be much more dangerous than Rob thought, and he isn’t the only disabled vet that Smokey is taking advantage of either. Eventually arrested, Smokey suffers a massive stroke and becomes disabled himself… or does he?

Smith and Rhodes have crafted a complicated plot with a growing sense of urgency that finally culminates in an ironic ending. The PTSD that Rob and many of the other characters suffer from is palpable. Disabled both mentally and physically, an endearing Rob still manages to help Samantha understand her own PTSD. Smoky is a well-motivated villain who gets what he deserves in the end... or does he? This is an earnest and gut-wrenching look into the lives of vets who sacrificed everything for their fellow man only to be preyed upon by them in the end.

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