Leaving the death and bloodshed of the War Between the States behind him, Martin searches for his lost family. Then an old Ranchero, Luis Alvarado, claims him as his grandson,and Martin finds himself hated by the ranch hands with no support from an aloof, but highly critical grandfather.

When he saves Filipe Terraza, the son of a rival family, Martin is beaten by Alvarado's roundup crew and left for dead on the border between the two ranches where riders for the Terraza family find him. Out of gratitude for saving Filipe, the Terrazas take Martin into their home. As he grows to trust them, Martin chooses to turn his back on what remains of his family.

As the brewing war between the two sides builds, Martin learns of a secret binds his loyalty to the Terraza family, but a murder draws Martin back into the blood, violence, and fear he wanted to burry with the war and leaving him with the emptiness of a future without ever knowing his true family.