“Slow Joe” is a Western fiction novel written by Frederick Schiller Faust under the pseudonym Max Brand. The story revolves around Joe Hyde and his troubled family history with the law. Joe's father was a victim of claim-jumping, and despite having evidence against a rich rustler, the sheriff let him go free, causing great hardship for the family. Furthermore, Joe's brother was wrongfully accused of a murder he didn't commit. When Joe's friend Lew Ellis is shot in the back, Marshal Chip Werner asks Joe to become a deputy and track down the two killers. Initially hesitant, Joe changes his mind when he learns the identities of the culprits. Driven by a desire for justice and revenge, Joe embarks on a dangerous mission to find and kill the men responsible.