Fighting in the Civil War a man accidently kills his friend. Returning to Abilene after the war he finds his former sweetheart about to marry the brother of the man he killed. To pay his debt he not only refuses to win her back but takes the job of Sheriff, a job he doesn't want, when the brother asks him. Still haunted by the killing he refuses to carry a gun. But there is trouble between the ranchers and the farmers and when he finds the brother murdered he straps on a gun and heads after the killer.

During a Civil War battle, Confederate officer Cal Wayne mistakenly kills one of his own soldiers. When the war ends and Cal returns to his home in Abilene, he finds that the town is torn apart by the battle raging between cattlemen and farmers. Despite his reluctance to use a gun again, Cal resumes his old position as sheriff, thereby removing his double-dealing replacement, Joe Slade. To avoid further trouble, Cal decides to conceal the fact that the Confederate soldier he killed was the brother of the local cattle king, Grant Evers. Cal is also upset by the news that Amy Martin, his former fiancée who believed him to be dead, is engaged to marry Grant. The strife between the cattlemen and the farmers threatens to erupt into a range war when a young farmer, Cord Decker, is unjustly accused of cattle stealing and brutally flogged. Grant learns how his brother died and makes an attempt on Cal's life. Grant also gets into a row with Slade over the latter's refusal to leave town. The two men draw their pistols and Grant is killed. Now free of his fear of using a gun, Cal faces up to Slade and outdraws him. With peace restored, Cal resumes his courtship of Amy.