When bounty hunter Gustavus Greeley rides into Elk Horn, he learns that Marshal Detmeyer has failed to return from investigating a shooting at the nearby Baker farm. Going out to the farm, Greeley finds Mr and Mrs Baker and their son dead, Detmeyer badly wounded, and their two daughters missing. Arrows have been used, making it look like an Indian attack, and the girls are presumed to have been taken captive by Apaches. But are the Apaches really responsible? Or are brothers David and Will Preston, newcomers to Elk Horn looking for land to take up ranching, somehow involved?