Trying to recover from the grief over the death of his wife, Cade McCall settles in Dodge City, "Hell on the Plains". While drunk, Cade loses the saloon that he owns in partnership with Jeter Willis, rupturing a friendship that had stood for years.

Caught up in the infamy of lawlessness and gun slinging that is Dodge City, Cade fights the battle against his own despair, and against the Slater Brothers who are trying to take over the town. He is aided in the struggle by his new found friend, Bat Masterson, old friend Jacob Harrison and the renewed friendship with Jeter Willis.