Matthew Stoker, Harvard graduate, has returned from the war to find that the family plantation has a new owner. He becomes a hired gun and heads west toward Colorado, where he hopes to start a new life. On the way, Matt discovers that Maria Johnson"s father has been murdered and she is being harassed. Why was Johnson murdered? Matt begins to consider various possibilities. He knows that John Culbertson, Maria"s neighbor wants the Johnson ranch, but would he resort to murder and then confront Maria with a phony deed? Maybe Johnson had won big at cards, and someone bushwhacked him for the money. Maybe he had an enemy that simply seized an opportunity when it arose. Matt realizes that such speculation is futile. He is a newcomer and simply doesn"t have any answers at this time. Matt also knows that it is now going to take him a little longer to reach his new home. He now has to stay around to help Maria and until the mystery of Johnson"s death is unraveled.