Director Joseph Kane (King of the Pecos) and his star John Wayne (Flame of Barbary Coast) teamed up again in this western about a veteran Union officer, John Ashley (Wayne) returning home from the war only to find that his presence is unwanted by his former neighbors, who had all sided with the Confederacy. Seedy carpetbagger, Benedict Holden (Cy Kendall) and his army of thugs have taken control of the town and though initially duped by Holden, Ashley realizes that Holden, without the knowledge of the governor is killing, stealing, and taxing the local ranchers out of their property under the pretense of state authority. Ann Rutherford (The Lawless Nineties) co-stars as Virginia Terry, Ashley's childhood sweetheart.