The film, with a similar plot to High Noon, tells the story of Dan Ballard (John Payne) and Rose Evans (Lizabeth Scott), who are about to be married on the Fourth of July when Marshal Fred McCarty (Dan Duryea) and his deputies ride into town looking for Ballard. McCarty accuses Ballard of having murdered his brother and has come to arrest him.
At first, the townspeople are on Ballard's side, but gradually they turn against him, especially when they believe that he has killed the town sheriff (Emile Meyer). Ballard tries to prove his innocence and expose McCarty.
