The Culpepper Cattle Co.

Ben, a young man proud of his $4 handgun, begs Culpepper to let him join the cattle drive to Fort Lewis, Colorado. He flaunts his weapon as a badge of cowboy aspiration. Culpepper, a reformed gunslinger, reluctantly agrees and sends Ben to the cook to be his 'little Mary', while Ben says goodbye to his mother.

Culpepper assigns Ben to the camp cook's duties, testing his usefulness as a greenhorn. Ben handles the tasks poorly, and his inexperience creates friction with the crew. The early mistakes set a tense tone for his role in the drive.

Rustlers stampede the herd and Culpepper pursues them to a box canyon. In a brutal confrontation, Culpepper and his hands gun down the rustlers, even when some are disarmed, losing four of their own men in the fight. The act hardens Culpepper's frontier justice and costs lives.

Culpepper directs Ben toward a cantina a day’s ride off to locate Russ Caldwell. On the way, a band of trappers robs Ben of his horse and gun, leaving him momentarily stranded. Ben finally reaches Caldwell and is invited to join the convoy.

Ben finds Caldwell; they join the drive with three buddies. They immediately kill the trappers they encounter and take their possessions, showing a ruthless turn in the frontier.

During a night watch, a one-eyed man distracts Ben, and he doesn't shoot. Another thief overpowers Ben, and the horses are stolen, leaving Culpepper furious at Ben's stupidity. The episode tests Ben's nerve under pressure.

The horse theft pushes Culpepper to put Ben on a stage coach and head toward town. In town, at a saloon, Ben recognizes the patron as the one-eyed thief. A shootout erupts: Ben shoots the bartender who reaches for a shotgun, and the rest of Culpepper's adversaries die, with one survivor directing Culpepper to the horses.

Ben handles Caldwell's gun without permission; Caldwell knocks him to the ground. A ranch hand calls Caldwell an SOB, and Caldwell demands a gunfight to reclaim his honor. The hand leaves, and Culpepper warns Ben to 'make himself small'.

In a grassy, wet area, Culpepper leaves the cattle to graze and rides into town to seek payment from landowner Thornton Pierce. Ben follows to buy food for the cook but ends up in a bar where they push him into a backroom session with a prostitute, though they remain clothed. Pierce insists on a $200 down payment for trespassing, and with Culpepper outgunned, the group is forced to surrender their sidearms.

Culpepper encounters Green's religious pilgrims, led by Nathaniel Green, who invite the cattle to water and plan to settle. Green believes God has led Culpepper here to help and stay their hand, offering a hopeful alternative to further violence.

Pierce and his thugs return, claiming the land is theirs and giving everyone, including Green, an hour to leave. Green remains convinced Culpepper was sent by God to help, but Culpepper urges leaving to stay safe, planning to move on toward Fort Lewis.

Ben decides to stay, hoping he can help despite Culpepper's plan to move on. He reveals he hid his gun during the barroom ambush. As Culpepper rides off, Caldwell and his three friends, driven by conscience and revenge, return to defend Green, leaving Culpepper to drive the cattle alone.

In a fierce shootout, all members of Caldwell's party and Pierce's attackers are killed, leaving only Ben unharmed. The violence marks a devastating turning point as the group around Green pays a terrible price for staying or fighting.

Green declares that they are not staying any longer, saying the ground is stained with blood and that God was testing them. Ben forces them to bury the four bodies, then discards his gun and rides off toward parts unknown.

Ben leaves the burned remnants of the drive behind and rides toward an uncertain future. He seeks a new path away from the violence and the memory of the life he tried to imitate.