Gary Keller, a promising art student, tests his new rifle by firing a random shot which instantly kills his mentor, the town minister, who happens to be driving on a road right in the line of fire. Kimble happens to be in the car after the minister gives a ride to the hitchhiking fugitive. The car crashes and Kimble hobbles away to attend to his injuries. A guilt ridden Gary wants to confess, but his father, Steve, refuses to let him do so and destroy his promising career. The police arrive on the scene and after spotting Kimble, they think he is the killer and notify Geard whom arrives in town to track him down. Meanwhile, Steve decides to take matters into his own hands by finding Kimble and hiding him so he does not implicate his son.

Injuring after being shot during a police chase, Kimble seeks refuge at an orphange near a Navajo Indian reservation in Puma County, Arizona. Annie Johnson, the head teacher (and herself an orphan), removes the bullet and offers Kimble work as a teacher. Meanwhile, while the local sheriff Prycer belives that Kimble has escaped, a determined and overzealous deputy, named Steel, belives Kimble is still in the area and suspects Annie of sheltering the fugitive.