Rance Dehner, an operative for the Lowrie Detective Agency, pursues a wanted killer to the small town of Hardin, Texas. After bringing down the killer in a gunfight, Dehner discovers the gun slick was in town to murder Leona Carson, a penniless 14-year-old girl with a baby. Dehner cannot understand why anyone would employ a gun for hire to kill Leona, and finding the answer to that question throws him into a whirlwind of violent encounters. Soon he must dodge bullets from an onslaught of professional killers, while uncovering the shameful secrets of Hardin's leading citizens.