Consumed by greed, the leading citizens of Stockton, map out a daring plan to steal to the proceeds from the sale of a ranch and a cattle herd by a prominent local rancher, Jake Warren, who is moving his family to Wyoming.

When the hired gun fails to do the job as planned, the conspirators frame the man's son, the only survivor of the planned murders, as the good son, gone bad, over his love for a local girl.

Falsely accused of murdering his family, young Trevor Warren must become a man overnight to avenge his family and save himself from the hangman's noose or from being shot in the back to keep conspiracy a secret. He turns to the sheriff for help only to discover he isn't the man he thought he was. Leaving only a friend of his fathers to turn to for help.

Drawing on the skills his father taught him, Trevor sets out to avenge his father and clear his name but in the process discovers the true power of gold and how easily men can be bought with the promise of it.