They wanted to hang Giles Clanahan for the murder of a man gunned down by the notorious killer, Jake Shockley, but the only way to clear his name was to bring Shockley in to stand trial. Now Clanahan finds himself fleeing across the long Arizona desert where he stumbles upon a dark plot. A band of ex-Confederate soldiers led by Hammond Cole plans to seize a valley known as Canoga but it is already occupied by new settlers. However, Cole has no compunction about driving them off the land. The only man aware of the plot is Clanahan, and he must play out a bloody game on the open range.