Tommy Stallings is now acting Sheriff of Colfax County after Tomás Marés resigns unexpectedly. A rancher is murdered by rustlers who speak of a secret hideout. The rancher killed one of the outlaws and Tommy identifies him as a member of the White Cap Gang from Las Vegas, New Mexico, a band of murdering thieves led by saloon owner Felipe Alvarado. As Tommy investigates this murder, he hears rumors of a bushy-bearded, red-headed stranger from Texas who’s asking about him. The stranger turns out to be his cousin, Rusty, with whom he lived after his family was killed. They parted on bad terms but Rusty has come to mend fences and ask Tommy to return to Texas to help the family. Tommy agrees to do so if Rusty will first help him with the White Cap outlaws. Tommy asks former sheriff Nathan Averill for advice and is surprised when the old sheriff volunteers to come out of retirement to assist him. They determine the location of the gangs’ hideout but their progress is interrupted when Colfax County officials insist that the sheriff’s office move to the county seat of Springer. Tommy is devastated when his wife, Mollie, decides not to move with him. She fears that if he’s killed in the line of duty, she would be forced to return to prostitution to survive.