The film opens in northwest Missouri (near "Mound City, Missouri") in 1867. In the years following the Civil War, Britt Canfield, one of four ex-Confederate brothers, heads west for a new life. Britt accepts a job with the Santa Fe Railway, whilst his three brothers find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Britt is eventually obliged to bring his brothers to justice, but the real man behind their criminal activities is gambling boss Cole Sanders.
