The years after the Civil War were brutal ones on the plains. Increasing numbers of white settlers struggled with the Indians for possession of the land. It was a situation tailor-made for Major Samuel Burkhalter's dreams of personal glory. But a triangle of hate binds two men to Burkhalter. Lt. Martin Keefe saw the Major's ambition ruin his father's career, and now it is threatening his own. Joe Moya's wife and children were killed in a massacre by the Major's troop. Hungry for revenge, Moya arranges an ambush at Rialto Creek.