Ever since he lost his wife and daughter, Samuel Tucker has wandered, drunk and bereft of a reason to go on. Now, far from his native Texas in Oregon's Rogue River region, Tucker secretly watches as two men gun down a third. After they leave, he takes the dead man's pistol and makes it to the next town. There he learns the identity of the murdered man: Payton Farraday, a well-liked local rancher - and a second Farraday shot to death within the last two years. He also becomes a suspect in the shooting. But Emma Farraday, the victim's niece, believes in his innocence, and the two must defy some powerful men to prove it. If they don't Emma could lose the ranch - and Tucker could lose his life....