After the American Civil War and the tragic burning of Atlanta, southerner and Georgian, "Mitch Barrett" is a discharged former Confederate States Army soldier emigrating to the West with his loving wife "Ellie" in their wagon.

Because of what Mitch sees as the heartlessness of these three local men failing to help in his desperate tragic situation, his anger deepens and rages inward – "George Caldwell" the hotel keeper, "Sam Giller" the general store owner and "Ole Olsen" the sheriff.

Unhinged by poor Ellie's death, he plots to get his revenge by killing them all and robbing the local bank of $100,000 / one hundred thousand dollars in gold being deposited by a rich cattleman driving his herd through to market, thus ruining the town.

So Mitch is intrigued by the possibilities of this skill; "Sir Harry Ivers" – 'of the Lancaster Ivers', an upper-class-sounding "blue-blood", fancy dressed English pickpocket, caught while practicing his craft in the saloon where deputy sheriff Barrett gets him out of the jam instead of arresting him; "Julie Reynolds", a bar girl / prostitute who hopes to make enough money to go back East and make a respectable life for herself; she finds out a little about Mitch's ideas from tending to a drunken delirious Lt. Keats upstairs in the saloon / hotel room; and "Stu Christian", a ruthless gunman, who already exhibited his trade.

The only survivors now, Dan and Julie have a change of heart and not being guilty of the higher crime of murder, they return the stolen bank money, explaining everything to the understanding town doctor, and preparing to stand trial and spend some years in jail with the future possibility of later long-term happiness awaiting them after their release.

[8] Actress Dolores Michaels said to famous gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in the local major daily newspaper, the 'Los Angeles Times' in June 1960, that "Playing westerns aren't included among the things I'll settle for on screen, although the part of Julie in this picture is better than most.