Edgar Ross sends John Marston to the Blackwater area to help him track down his former gang leader and mentor, Dutch van der Linde. After several skirmishes with Van der Linde's gang and a final dramatic assault on Van der Linde's camp with the assistance of the U.S. Army, Marston finally corners Dutch. Dutch chooses to commit suicide by throwing himself from a cliff, declaring to Marston, that their time is up, a reference to the federal government's manipulation and the pursuit of them, and a foreshadowing of Ross betraying Marston.

After Van der Linde's death, Ross is unimpressed with Marston's inability to have shot Dutch himself. Taking Marston's pistol and shooting Van Der Linde's mangled corpse, Ross states that it “looks better in the report that way". Ross and Fordham finally and unceremoniously relinquish their custody of Abigail and Jack, telling Marston they can be found at the Marston ranch on Beecher's Hope. Marston reunites with his family, living in peace with them and enjoying the life he had worked and killed for.

Though John lives peacefully for a time, Ross later violates the agreement in order to wipe out the Van der Linde gang. With the help of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marshals, Ross launches an allout assault on the ranch in Beecher's Hope. Marston holds off waves of the attackers, fighting mercilessly to defend his family. Eventually, the Marston family retreats to a barn, and John sends his wife Abigail and his son Jack away from the ranch on a horse. Ross and his agents surround the barn, fully armed with their guns pointed at the door.

Deciding to sacrifice himself in order to secure his family's future, and accepting that he is not leaving the ranch alive, Marston exits the barn slowly and faces the attackers. Pulling out his gun, Marston takes down as many soldiers as he can but is quickly gunned down by the firing squad, of which Ross himself is a member. Ross is seen in the crowd lighting a cigar as Marston falls to his knees. Marston does not acknowledge Ross or say a word. After drawing his last breath, Marston collapses. Ross, the lawmen, and the soldiers then leave the ranch, leaving John's dead body to be found by Jack and Abigail.

Three years pass, and Ross continues working in Blackwater under the Federal Bureau, soon becoming the FBI. During this time, Abigail dies of unspecified causes and Jack grows into a nineteenyearold man. His change in appearance and talent with a gun suggests that he has been training extensively to be more like his father and to avenge his death.

After paying respects and mourning at the graves of John, Abigail, and Uncle, Jack returns to Blackwater. At the train station, he runs into a younger Bureau agent and inquires about Edgar Ross. He learns that Ross had received a "...chest full of medals". Ross retired from the Bureau sometime in 1913 and moved to a small cabin with his wife on Lake Don Julio in Cholla Springs, New Austin. Despite his retirement, however, it is apparent that the Bureau still hounds Ross for work due to his level of fame within their organization.

In 1914, Jack Marston would track down Ross, visiting his retirement home in Lake Don Julio, where he meets Edgar's wife, Emily Ross. She tells him that he is hunting with his brother Phillip Ross on the Nuevo Paraiso side of the San Luis River. Jack then crosses into Mexico and finds his brother hunting along Rio del Toro. Phillip tells Jack that Edgar is hunting ducks downstream. Proceeding west along the river, Jack Marston discovers Edgar shooting at a flock of ducks and confronts him about the death of his father.

Ross shows no remorse for having betrayed and killed John, claiming the one ultimately responsible was John himself and the life John lived. Ross declares that he would similarly have no hesitation to kill Jack, then tells him to leave before he kills him. Jack refuses to leave, resulting in a climactic duel. Ross is gunned down, a longrunning theme of hypocrisy in the actions of Ross are ironically concluded, recalling the statement that "...Everyone will eventually pay for what they have done".

Red Dead Redemption Characters & Plot Details.