⁣⁣An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.

⁣Duke Rand, leader of a gang of desperadoes, has murdered rancher John Reed, and Arizona Ranger Colonel Blake, the only two men other than himself that knows there are large deposits of copper on the Reed ranch. He knows the blame will be placed on the cattle-vs-sheep range war. Tom Evans, posing as a wanted outlaw, Ed 'Trigger" Jones, works his way into Rand's confidence. The latter sends "Trigger" to make trouble for Midge Reed, the murdered man's daughter. Tom, as "Trigger" devises a plan to trap Rand but it backfires and he soon finds himself between two fires.

⁣Corrupt Wisconsin lumberman Jim Fallon (Kirk Douglas) travels to Northern California at the dawn of the 20th century in order to gain control of a tract of redwood forest. Fallon's underhanded tactics stir resentment from everyone, including settler Elder Bixby (Charles Meredith) ; his beautiful daughter, Alicia (Eve Miller) ; Fallon's fair-minded employee, Yukon Burns (Edgar Buchanan) ; and his right-hand man, Frenchy LeCroix (John Archer) -- and his cheating ways create unlikely bedfellows.

⁣A man known as The Drifter returns home to his cabin in the woods and winds up getting involved with an escaped convict, a gunfighter, lumber company rivals, mysterious family ties and murder!

⁣Pat and Stoney are ordered to Wisconsin to investigate an Indian agent's claim that a lumber company is forcing the Chippewa Indians off their reservation in order to harvest pristine stands of pine trees. The G-men's investigation is hindered by the distrust of the Chippewas as well as the lumbermen.