Link Jones (Gary Cooper) is a frontier man who is heading to Fort Worth to hire teacher. When the train that he is riding on is held up he becomes stranded along with showgirl Billie Ellis (Julie London), and gambler Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell). Attempting to find shelter Link leads the group to his old home in the area. As it turns out this is the home where he grew up as a criminal, and his old gang is still inhabiting the place. From here he attempts to pretend as though he has come to take up his old life of crime again. He tries to alternately to convince his old gang that he is returning to his old ways, and also to stop himself from falling victim to his old way of life, all of this while trying to survive the increasingly violent abuse of his former gang.