Fort Defiance

Ben Shelby rides up to a cattle ranch outside Fort Defiance, Arizona, looking for Johnny Tallon. He meets Ned Tallon, who reveals he is blind and that a letter Johnny wrote after the Civil War suggested he would be home soon. The moment sets up Ned's loyalty to Johnny and hints at a dangerous past.

Ned's Uncle Charlie arrives and introduces Ben as a friend of Johnny. Charlie is wary and presses for Ben to leave quickly. After Ben helps chase away two army veterans trying to cheat them, he suggests staying to help run the ranch. Charlie asks him not to reveal Johnny's true history.

Weeks pass with no sign of Johnny. Charlie returns from Fort Defiance with news that Johnny has been shot dead while robbing a bank. He confesses to Ned that he kept Johnny's secret, and Ben reveals he survived the Battle of Tennessee Ridge, losing his own brother. Ned realizes that Ben may be here not just for friendship but for revenge.

Ben sits in a Fort Defiance saloon and begins writing a letter to his wife Jane about coming home. He decides to change his plans and join Ned and Charlie in a cattle venture, asking Jane to catch the next stage to Fort Defiance. They decorate a Christmas tree and look forward to her arrival.

Dave Parker arrives with a posse and aims to seize Ned and Johnny's cattle. A gunfight erupts and Charlie is killed while Ben and Ned escape. Parker's men pursue them toward Navajo Canyon, but Parker calls off the chase and sends three men back to bury Charlie.

A man revealed to be Johnny Tallon appears with Hankey and learns what Parker has been up to. He kills two Parker men and informs the remaining one that Johnny is alive. Johnny and Hankey begin trailing Ned and Ben, intent on reclaiming the Tallon name.

In the canyon, Ned explains Johnny's scar from fighting Parker’s sons that left him blind. Indians attack as Ben and Johnny struggle to control a horse; Hankey is killed. Johnny reveals he had money to take Ned to San Francisco for eye surgery, but Ned refuses to use ill-gotten money.

The group helps fight a stagecoach being chased by Indians, and Ned begins to fall for Julie, a dance hall girl. The Indians attack again the next morning; the cavalry arrives and moves the Indians toward a reservation. Johnny forces Ned onto the stagecoach, knocks Ben out, and leaves with Ned and Julie.

Inside Fort Defiance, Ned confronts Johnny and begs him not to force him onto the stagecoach. Johnny realizes Ned wants to stay with Ben and Julie, and goes to Parker's saloon to secure the Tallon ranch deal. He claims Parker has bought the ranch and demands a bill of sale and all the cash; when Parker's man resists, Johnny shoots him and takes the money and deed. Johnny then hands the money and deed to Ben so they can start their partnership.

Parker arrives and demands that Ned and Johnny come out. Johnny bursts out, guns blazing, taking down Parker's men before being shot dead by Parker. Ben returns fire and kills Parker, ending his threat to Ned and the Tallon plan.

A stagecoach arrives carrying Jane to Fort Defiance. The four—Ben, Ned, Julie, and Jane—prepare to start their new life together on the Tallon ranch, with the deed and money secured. The ending signals a hopeful frontier future for the group.