Duke and three women under attack by Cheyenne Indians are helped by a stranger who has a fatalistic attitude toward life. They take refuge in a relay station where the stranger slowly relays his past to the others while they hope for help.

Duke and Charlie leave the train for supplies and to see Duke's old friends at a fort. One is a minister who was cashiered out of the Army who is trying to create peace with the Modocs despite a Major who only wants to kill all Indians.