Kate Doubleday leaves her life in the East behind when her mother dies and heads for the Western Rockies where she will meet her father for the first time. Barb Doubleday is a cold, hard, and very powerful rancher with friends and enemies alike. Times are tough for cattlemen and now, with Doubleday constantly losing cattle to rustlers, there's about to be hell to pay. Doubleday and his top honchos, Tom Stone and Harry Van Horn, are determined to put a stop to the losses - and if people have to die, that's all right with them. Jim Laramie is as honest as the day is long - and that might prove unfortunate for him. Laramie's refusal to go along with the murderous plans of the Doubleday gang puts him directly in their crosshairs. And when Kate announces that she and Laramie are going to be married, there's one chance in a thousand that he'll live to be a groom.