In this complex western, set in Arizona during the 1870s, a cowboy kills a wanted man, goes to collect the $8,000 reward and instead meets the late outlaw's partner who is trying to get the reward for himself. The cowboy encounters more trouble when the dead man's little brother shows up looking for revenge. The town sheriff decides to settle the whole mess by exhuming the body and examining it. En route to the cemetery, the hero meets the little brother's guardian who falls in love with the stranger, but cannot understand why the money is so important to him. At the gravesite, they are appalled to discover that the Apaches, who adored the outlaw, have stolen his corpse. The outlaw's partner then shoots the sheriff and they all ride off. Suddenly the Indians attack, and to save the rest, the wounded partner sacrifices himself. After he dies, the hero suddenly realizes that love is better than money. Simultaneously, the vengeful little brother understands that his older sibling really was a bad man and probably deserved to die.