Wes McQueen breaks out of jail and heads to the Colorado Territory to reconnect with his old friend Dave Rickard. Along the way, a stagecoach is attacked by a gang of robbers; the driver and guard are killed, and McQueen single-handedly takes on the remaining gunmen, earning the gratitude of the other passengers, dreamer Fred Winslow and his daughter Julie Ann Winslow. Fred has bought a ranch sight unseen and feverishly hopes to make his fortune, dreaming of a fresh start beyond the perilous life he’s left behind.
McQueen arrives at the ghost town Todos Santos, where Reno Blake and Duke Harris are waiting, along with Reno’s part-Indian girlfriend, Colorado Carson. After sizing them up and not liking what he sees, he travels to a nearby town to visit an ailing Rickard, who begs him to pull off one last big train robbery so they can retire in comfort together. McQueen, wary of the gang’s motives aside from Rickard, nonetheless agrees to the job out of loyalty and gratitude, while keeping a wary eye on the rest of the crew—ex-private detective Pluthner and railroad informant Homer Wallace among them.
While the plan threads its way toward action, McQueen decides to keep Colorado beside him to minimize friction between Duke and Reno. Colorado, touched by his reluctance to trust the others, falls for the outlaw, even as McQueen fantasizes about marrying Julie Ann and starting over somewhere far from the law. When he visits the Winslow ranch, he finds the place barren and dry, and Fred warns him that Julie Ann loves Randolph, a wealthy man back East. McQueen remains undeterred, driven by a stubborn hope for a different future.
The day of the robbery arrives. A suspicious McQueen talks to Wallace’s wife and learns that Wallace has betrayed the gang for the reward money. Forewarned, he cleverly uncouples the passenger cars where the sheriff and his men lie in ambush, leaving them behind. Duke and Reno, acting in concert with Pluthner, try to double-cross him, but McQueen has anticipated every move. He outmaneuvers them, pockets the money, and leaves the two handcuffed together for capture and possible hanging. He and Colorado head to Rickard to share the spoils, only to discover Pluthner over Rickard’s dead body. McQueen shoots the former killer, though not without being wounded in the shoulder.
A gravely wounded McQueen makes for the Winslow ranch, where Fred tends to the bullet wound and helps Colorado, even after he learns the truth about McQueen and his past. McQueen overhears Julie Ann urging her father to hand him over to the law, but Winslow lies to the sheriff and his posse when they arrive. The confession of love soon follows: McQueen realizes he loves Colorado and asks her to marry him. They plan to escape to a new life in Mexico, but are discovered hiding out in Todos Santos. He entrusts Colorado with the money, asking her to bury it near the mission’s collection box, and then he urges her to take the horses and go on without him.
As they race toward the border, McQueen is forced into a desperate stand in a long-deserted cliffside Indian settlement. He proves as skilled with a gun as he is careful with a plan, buying time for Colorado to reach him. Colorado arrives on foot just as the sheriff deploys a back entrance and a sharpshooter to finish the pursuit. She seizes a weapon, orders the posse to walk away, and drives the final two horses toward McQueen. The two lovers appear doomed, but McQueen is felled by a shot from the sharpshooter; Colorado returns fire, and the two die together in a hail of gunfire.
The closing image returns to Brother Tomas, who is asked who brought new life to Todos Santos. He replies, > A happy couple who passed this way.
