Finding his father and brother hanging, his partner and their prisoner murdered and his son Sam nowhere to nearby has pushed US Marshal Mike Hansen into a chase he never expected or wanted. His old nemesis, Barnaby Judd, has done the unthinkable human act to draw Hansen into gunplay to settle an old score.
With hours passing and no sign of young Sam, Hansen becomes convinced this heartless killer has taken the boy as a bargaining chip for safe passage through New Mexico's Indian lands.
A quick search for the boy around the family farm leaves Hansen empty handed. Returning to the barn, Mike lays to rest his Pa and brother alongside his wife Anne and his mother Alice.
Days later, Mike learns of the murderer's identity. Following witness descriptions of Judd, Mike heads south into old Mexico. There, at a dead-end, he crosses back through New Mexico into Southern Colorado and Utah Territory battling an endless Monsoon before facing Judd outside the town of Sidewinder in a showdown of fast draw speed and sheer guts.