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In the late 1800s in Gila Valley, Arizona, Jim
Slater searches an old grave for the remains of his father William, who
years before was part of a group of men who acquired $60,000, thought to be
in gold, and then were killed by marauding Indians. Jim is out to
avenge his father, who abandoned his family decades earlier, and believes
that one of his father's group escaped with the money and deliberately
failed to report the Indian attack to authorities. Karyl Orton, who
thinks that her estranged husband Paul was also part of the Gila Valley gold
rushers, finds Jim at the gravesite and figures he is competing with her to
find the $60,000.
When deputy sheriff Tomm Welker begins shooting
at Jim from atop the hillside, Jim finally kills Tomm and has Karyl, whom he
assumes is in cahoots with Tomm, assist him in bringing the body to Sheriff
J. C. Marson. Marson, who like everyone else believes that only five
men were present in Gila Valley, questions Jim about why he feels that a
sixth man escaped. Marson informs Jim that
Tomm's brother was one of the five murdered men, and has two brothers, Jeff
and Tony, who will stop at nothing to seek revenge. After Jim refuses to
leave town, Marson tips him off that Sgt. George Lake buried the bodies and
may have additional information. Jim heads straight to the Army post,
where he discovers that Lake is guarding Benton's Trading Post from Indians
seeking retribution for shoddy rifles they bought at the post. Karyl,
who has been following the same path, is also at Benton's and, along with
Lake, his few soldiers and Karyl's coach drivers, awaits the next,
presumably fatal, Indian attack. Lake refuses to answer either Karyl's
or Jim's questions, but that night turns to Jeff for help in stampeding the
Indians' horses, in order to give the group in the trading post enough time
to flee. Before leaving, Jim grabs Karyl and kisses her, and she slaps
him. He and Lake then sneak into the hills, kill the Indian guard,
release the horses and race after the escaping coach, with the Indians close
behind. Lake is shot in the chest and, before dying reveals to Jim
what he found in Gila Valley: five dead bodies, three of whom were
identified and one of whom was missing a hand, and one extra horse with a
Diamond C Ranch brand.
Soon after, Jeff and Tony Welker search for Jim
in the hotel near the trading post and, when Karyl arrives there and
mentions Jim's name, Jeff forces her up the stairs to question her.
Just then, Jim walks in and once again assumes she is in league with the
Welkers. Out of spite, Karyl calls out his name, prompting the
brothers to draw their guns, but Jim quickly kills Jeff and wounds Tony.
Karyl finds Jim on the trail to Texas that night
and attends to the bullet wound he has received on his shoulder, using her
shirt as a bandage. Karyl ignores Jim's gruff manner and explains that
Paul was a Confederate soldier who, upon hearing what his wife did to
survive during the war, refused to return to her. In return, Jim
reveals what Lake told him, and after he falls asleep, she reads an old
letter from Jim's father inviting Jim to visit.
The next day, while they travel cheerfully, Jim
admits that he would like to settle down, but must first learn the truth
about his father's end. They soon arrive at the Diamond C Ranch, owned
by Major Carson, who explains that neighboring rancher Jim Bonniwell arrived
years before with $60,000 and rustled cattle until he built up a ranching
empire. Bonniwell also brought Carson a photograph of his nephew, who
had lost a hand in the war and died in Gila Valley. Now knowing that
his father and Karyl's husband were the fifth and sixth men in Gila Valley,
Jim nervously sets out to discover if the nefarious Bonniwell is his father.
Although Karyl, not wanting either of them to be hurt, begs him to stay with
her, Jim roughly tells her that he must finish his search, even if it means
killing his own father. While he leaves, Carson notifies Sheriff Olson
that he and the neighboring ranchers will attack Bonniwell the next morning.
That night in a saloon, Carson's hotheaded,
sharpshooting ranch hand Johnny Cool is warning Bonniwell to reinforce his
men when Jim enters. Johnny immediately picks a fight with Jim, but
Bonniwell, for reasons he does not understand, stops him. Later, Olson
overhears Jim asking about Bonniwell and, assuming Jim is a traitor to
Carson, arrests him.
In the morning, Karyl arrives at the local bar,
and when she asks after Jim, Tony appears and grabs her. Just then,
Johnny enters looking for Jim, and challenges Tony to a duel, beating him
easily. He is distracted away from Karyl by Bonniwell and his men, who
are descending on the town to ambush Carson's men. Bonniwell kills
Olson and enters the jail, where Jim soon identifies him as his father.
As Karyl joins Jim, Bonniwell explains that the $60,000 came not from gold
but from a bank heist Paul pulled, after which the other five men took
Bonniwell's gun and threw him out. Knowing, however, that Bonniwell
still refused to save them from the Indians, Jim remains horrified to learn
that he has such dishonest blood. Just then, Johnny challenges Jim to
a duel, which Jim wins, prompting Bonniwell to call him a true Slater.
While they await Carson's group, Karyl reassures Jim that he is a good man,
but an unconvinced Jim declares he must stay to help Carson. Hearing
only that he plans to stay, Bonniwell celebrates and orders his men not to
shoot, as the noise will alert the approaching Carson. Jim runs into
the street to shoot but finds that Bonniwell has removed his bullets.
Bonniwell then chases his son with a knife, while Jim tackles a ranch hand
and fires his gun, provoking Carson's men to surround the town center.
Bonniwell's men quickly flee, shooting Jim as they go. Bonniwell
challenges Jim to a duel but, before he can cheat and kill his son, one of
Carson's men kills him. Jim stands over his father's body and flings
away his gun, then turns to Karyl to help him leave the now deserted town. |
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