Dana Andrews plays Logan Stuart a scout turned general store and freight company owner, based in the mining settlement of Jacksonville, Oregon. Logan's best friend is George Camrose (Brian Donlevy), a banker and express company owner with an addiction to poker. When a gambling debt turns sour leading to accusations of murder, George is sentenced to death by a kangaroo court but Logan helps him escape. Meanwhile, Indians go on the warpath when the town's brutish Bragg (Ward Bond) kills a young Indian woman.