As Matt takes a convicted man to Hays City for hanging, Matt and the prisoner are waylaid, the prisoner lynched, and Matt is framed for the killing, then arrested by a sergeant with a grudge against him. 

Ellie Merchant, the wife of farmer Joe Merchant, is having a passionate affair with outlaw Pike Beechum. Beechum intends to remove Joe and any other obstacle between him and Ellie.