[3] Albert Gallatin "Lat" Evans (Don Murray), an earnest young cowboy determined to better his situation, wins a job with a cattle drive by busting a wild horse.

When the drive reaches a small Wyoming town, the cowboys congregate at the saloon, where Jehu (Richard Egan), an unscrupulous rancher, proposes racing one of their horses against his swift steed.

That night, Tom and Lat celebrate with saloon girls Jen (Jean Willes) and Callie (Lee Remick).

When Lat recalls a traumatic incident from his childhood in which his father beat him for being alone with a girl in the woodshed, Callie feels empathy.

Meanwhile, Callie, who has baked a cake for Lat, anxiously awaits his arrival, and when Jehu appears instead, she fights off his crude advances.

The ranchers corner the thieves at their mountain hideout, and after a gun battle, the two surviving rustlers surrender, and Lat is shocked to discover that Tom is one of them.

After finding Jehu at the saloon, the two begin to fight and their brawl spills onto the street as the townsfolk watch in consternation.

New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther was critical: "Under Richard Fleischer's direction, (cast members) dutifully lend their hands to this prettily garbed and scenic sermon, in which no one in Hollywood could deeply believe.