Neither a fictional biography of notorious Texas gunman John Wesley Hardin nor an actual one, "Reflections in Dark Glass" is based on the personal reminiscences of individuals who knew Hardin best. The book deals with relationships and details not found in the existing literature about the life of Hardin and covers the period from his boyhood to the killing of Deputy Sheriff Charlie Webb in 1874, an altercation which brought about Hardin's incarceration in 1878 in the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.