When U.S. Marshal Lincoln Hawk investigates a string of attacks on the Willow Falls stockyard, he doesn't take long to track down the culprits. A gunfight ensues and four men bite the dirt, but with his dying breath the last of the hired guns claims that he works for one of the stockyard owners.

Although there is no evidence to link him to the claim, Lincoln presumes that it's Blythe Newman, a man with a checkered past. Before this becomes a problem, Blythe is arrested on a separate charge of murder, but the victim's father isn't convinced that the right man is now behind bars.

Even though finding the real killer will result in an evil man being freed, Lincoln sets out to uncover the truth and what he'll find will test his faith in the law to breaking point.