Fred Leinster, an alcoholic ex-sheriff, is paid to collect a ransom for the kidnapping of a young boy. When he finds out the particulars of the crime he turns the tables on the outlaws.

After his girlfriend dies in childbirth, Confederate deserter John Warner travels to Mexico, where the woman's father, Don Pedro Sandoval, grudgingly hands over his child. But with no locals willing to provide milk, the baby dies. Rounding up a group of rebels, Warner goes on a rampage through northern Mexico, with the ultimate goal of taking down Sandoval in this gritty Western.

On his way back from the Civil War, Johnny Hamilton is visited in his sleep by the ghost of his father who lets him know that he has been murdered and who asks him to avenge him. Back in the family ranch, Johnny finds that not only has his father been killed but that Gertrude, his mother, has married her late husband's brother Claude. The latter is now the owner of the ranch and of all the properties of the deceased. Polonius, a ruthless bandit, is supposed to have killed Johnny's father. But couldn't it be Claude...?