Ben Skerrit, warden of the Arizona Territorial Penitentiary, had instituted a new rehabilitation program. Then an "open house" for the governor is spoiled by a breakout and the killing of a guard and two inmates by convict Rufe Houston, a notorious outlaw. His escape is followed by a bloodbath of further killings and the abduction of a young girl. Skerrit vows to kill Houston instead of returning him to justice.