Even though Marshal Frank Patch has kept the peace in Cottonwood Springs for over twenty years, he is now the laughing stock of the town liberals who want some new blood in the Marshall's Office. When Patch shoots the drunken Luke Mills in self-defense they get the excuse they had been waiting for.

For 20 years, Marshal Frank Patch has maintained law and order in the Western town of Cottonwood Springs, but now, as the citizens begin to think of themselves as "progressives," he is looked upon as an anachronism. Only his longtime mistress, Claire Quintana, owner of the local bar and brothel, and young Dan Joslin still respect him. After Patch shoots drunken Luke Mills in self-defense, the town leaders decide to ask for his resignation. When newspaper publisher Andrew Oxley presses the issue, Patch not only refuses to give up his badge but humiliates Oxley in front of his son Will. As a result, Oxley commits suicide, and Will swears revenge. Meanwhile, county sheriff Lou Trinidad is brought in to persuade his old friend to resign before he is killed, but again Patch refuses to submit to the demands. Aware that his days are numbered, Patch convinces Claire to marry him. Following the wedding ceremony, young Will Oxley shoots Patch in the shoulder, and Patch returns the fire, fatally wounding Will. Using the outbreak of renewed gunfighting as an excuse, the saloon keeper and his gang ambush Patch. Bleeding badly, Patch attends the funeral services for Luke, but as he leaves the church, members of the mayor's council open fire and shoot him down in the street.