Though ex-sheriff-turned-bounty-hunter Ben Brigade (Randolph Scott) captures the young desperado Billy John, it's his older brother, Frank, who's his real target. Joined by Sam Boone (Pernell Roberts), an outlaw looking to go straight, and Carrie Lane (Karen Steele), a widow whose stationmaster husband was killed in an Apache raid, Ben uses the threat of Billy's hanging as bait.