Dave and Meg Prescott are continuing their fight about staying in Warburg where Dave is the sheriff. Judd Sellers is expanding his casino and saloon empire in Warburg after Dave had trimmed it back to one saloon as he cleaned up the town. Meg who worked in Sellers' saloon before marrying Dave wants to leave the town. As the argument heats up Dave leaves before dinner but is shot dead while standing on the porch. Due to delays in hearing about the shooting, Jim Hardie arrives four weeks after the shooting finding Meg with Thorne Whitman, the local banker. When he learns nothing has been done about finding the killer, he decides to solve it himself. From Meg he learns there is a new sheriff named Wade Cather who Jim has met multiple times before when Wade saved Jim's life. Cather also knows Judd Sellers who hired him.
—Anonymous