On the trail, Paladin runs afoul of a puma and afterward, two men come along and take his belongings while he's all but dead. Paladin manages to follow them into the nearby town, but discovers that the townspeople are protecting the robbers.

Paladin makes the acquaintance of a drunken Martha Jane Conroy, aka Calamity Jane. He takes pity on her and agrees to help her collect her money from her former manager, Ned Blackstock.