At a stagecoach stop, Paladin sees a peaceful Cherokee rancher being beaten by white men who think his cattle are spreading a sickness. Paladin offers his help.

A British woman, Diana Coulter, hires Paladin to guide her to her brother's ranch in Shiprock, Arizona, where the Comanches are on the warpath.

John Kellaway, who is running for mayor of Colton, Wyoming, hires Paladin to protect him from his opposition. When he is killed before Paladin can get there, Paladin persuades John's widow to run for mayor.

Paladin is hired by the wife of a weak man who's terrorized by his hometown. The Southerner is hated because of his role in the Lincoln assassination.

A desert town hires Paladin to deal with three brothers who have been poisoning the municipal water supply.

Paladin trails a killer and bank robber to a saloon but while trying to capture him, the saloon's owner, Big Red, is shot.