Dan Ballard (John Payne), a respected citizen in the western town of Silver Lode, has his wedding interrupted by four men led by US Marshal, Fred McCarty (Dan Duryea), an old acquaintance, who arrests Ballard for the murder of his brother and the theft of $20,000. Ballard seeks to stall McCarty while tracking down evidence that will prove his innocence, but the townspeople's loyalty to him gradually begins to waver under McCarty's accusations.