An old maid bank teller decides it is time to provide for herself and identifies Trampas as a bank robber and murderer in order to extort $10,000 from the actual thief. The Virginian is the only thing between Trampas and the hangman's noose.

At a friend's grave Steve recalls how the man helped him survive his arrival at Medicine Bow and trained him as a cowboy proficient with guns. Sadly, the man's unwillingness to adapt to the times pushed Steve to his life at Shiloh.