Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff, and Lloyd Bridges star in this thoroughly entertaining yarn about one man, two women, and making tough choices.

When Sam Bass arrives in Denton, Texas, he’s riding shotgun on a stagecoach. He got there by taking a temporary job as a security guard. Now he’s broke, illiterate, and in need of kindness—which he soon finds from the sheriff’s sweet sister, Kathy.

But Kathy’s not the only one who sees something special in Sam. From the moment that Calamity Jane laid eyes on Sam, she was impressed by his ability to calm her horse, Thunderbolt.

For his part, the Sheriff Will Egan has some hard and fast rules about who can come to Denton, and gamblers are not on the list. He suspects that Sam is indeed a gambler, and he is suspicious of his motives. However, Kathy takes a shine to Sam almost immediately and realizes he needs a job, so she talks her brother into hiring him to work at the family farm, where he shows exceptional skill in taming wild horses.

Soon, Sam has a great idea: a big horse race to kick off the cattle drive. Horses from all around will compete against the Denton Mare, the local favorite to win any race and the fastest horse in the West.

On the day of the race, however, Kathy and Sam see the horse whinnying in pain as she is being shod. Realizing that she won’t be the fastest horse in the race that day, Sam asks Will to lend him $50 so he can buy her. Will reluctantly gives him the money…and Sam places a bet on Thunderbolt for the win.

When the Denton Mare comes up lame, Thunderbolt wins…and Sam is able to take his winnings and buy the horse. He tells Jane that he knew she wasn’t lame, just shod wrong…and Jane kisses him.

When Will discovers that Sam used his money to gamble, he tells him in no uncertain terms to leave Denton. But before he goes, he pledges his love to Kathy, and sets out on the cattle drive.

Sam’s heart is in the right place and he’s riding high as he heads out. But he’s about to fall in with the wrong crowd and make some life-changing choices….