Johnny Reno

Reno rides through the desert when the Conners brothers open fire, mistaking him for a pursuer. He fights back, wounds Joe and kills Ed, then takes Joe into custody and retrieves Ed's body, continuing toward Stone Junction with the captured man by his side.

Reno reaches Stone Junction and is immediately confronted by Mayor Jess Yates and Sheriff Hodges. Yates demands Conners, while Hodges resists handing him over; Reno refuses to surrender his prisoner and asserts his authority.

Reno browbeats Hodges into letting him place Conners in his jail, upsetting Yates and setting the stage for mob tension. The town's hostility toward Reno grows as he defies the town's expectations of justice.

Reno asks around for news of Nona Williams and learns she now runs the local saloon. He goes there and is confronted by Yates and his friends; a tense confrontation ends with Reno besting Yates in a fight.

Reno heads to Nona's ranch to talk about their past. Two of Yates's henchmen ambush him and hold him at gunpoint. Reno fights back, distracts them with a piece of furniture, and shoots them both dead; he then reconciles with Nona.

Reno returns to town and confronts the armed crowd outside the jail, forcing Hodges to disarm them. Reinforcements arrive and the crowd is temporarily held at bay as order is restored.

In the jail, Reno questions Conners and learns they were strangers in town who were plied with drink by the friendly locals, and that their guilt may be a frame by the town leadership. The seed of distrust deepens.

As Chief Little Bear's son is shot in a hail of bullets, the Conners are blamed for the incident and realize they must flee. Joe and Ed escape into the desert during the ensuing chaos.

Hodges notices the disorder and the mayor and his allies organize an evacuation, pulling women and children out of Stone Junction while leaving only a skeletal defense behind. The town's unity frays as fear spreads.

Yates captures Nona and lures Reno out of the jail by playing a tune on the piano. Reno steps into the street; a firefight erupts and Nona manages to escape during the commotion.

Reno climbs to the jail roof and rigs dynamite to drive off Yates's attackers, then returns inside to find Conners fending off another assault at the back door with help from Reno. The battle continues through the night.

Chief Little Bear's tribe arrives as the truth about the killings surfaces. The town learns Yates killed the chief's son and uses a misleading story to suppress it; Yates is killed in the confusion when his own plans backfire, and Reno and Conners join the defense of the town.

Reno rides out to the fort to tell the townsfolk and Nona's family what really happened and urges them to rebuild. He and Nona decide to start a life together, leaving Stone Junction behind to begin anew.