In the 1870's, buffalo hunters moved onto the High Plains of Texas. The Plains Indians watched hunters slaughter the animals that gave them shelter and clothing, food and weapons. The battles at and near the ruins of a trading fort, Adobe Walls, became symbolic of the struggles between hunters and the Comanche.

Working faithfully for a Texas rancher despite his family's warnings, Chacho Fernandez steals his payment when his dishonest employer refuses to compensate him and is falsely accused of murdering a lawman.