The Lambs of Purgatory, is Spence’s second novel. Again, Abner Hill is called upon to defend a Wyoming ranch hand against a charge of murder. What natural rights did Ben Eckersly have, despite the law, to take the law into his own hands and seek revenge against the man who raped his wife? Yet, was it rape? Did his wife actually give herself to the alleged rapist to save Little Ben, the chief protagonist in the story? And how are such choices reflected in the law? At last the book examines the issue of prostitution. Who are the real prostitutes in the town of Laramie, Wyoming? The women on Front Street in the houses or….the book takes us to a surprise ending that gives us a powerful and dramatic renewal of our own sense of love and hate.