The North is winning the war but faces a manpower shortage on the Western frontier and need more troops to fight marauding Indians. A group of Confederate prisoners are given the option of a pardon if they join the Union Army and go out West. Reluctantly Tucker (Joseph Cotten) brings his men over to the over side, even more reluctantly Major Kenniston (Jeff Chandler) accepts them.
Tucker begins to plan to escape and also gets mixed up with widow Elena (Linda Darnell), Kenniston's sister-in-law. Elena's husband was killed in the war, during an attack by Tucker's troop...
Although not the most dramatic Western, the Civil War backing with the animosity between the two sides adds an interesting dimension to the film.
