Ezra Macahan will come to be the toughest lawman the southwest has ever seen, but in his youth he could just as easily have taken to the Owlhoot Trail. Luckily, Fate has other plans for young Ezra. It begins when a lonely way station is attacked by the notorious Colbert gang set on freeing their bosses before they can be delivered to the authorities in Santa Rosa. When the marshal stops a bullet in the fight, Macahan finds himself with a heavy responsibility. The marshal's dying words are clear enough: 'take the Colbert brothers into Santa Rosa and turn 'em over to the sheriff.' And before he cashes in he makes Macahan promise to do just that. It is a tall order, and he'll have to fight every step of the way to get it done. But by the time the final showdown comes, Macahan has gone from a boy to a man ... and then from a man to a lawman.