Gregory Peck stars as Jimmy Ringo, a notorious killer and the deadliest shot in the Old West. Though his appetite for bloodletting has waned, Jimmy is forced to stay on the run by young gunners determined to shoot him down. After killing an upstart in self-defense, he escapes from the boy's vengeful brothers to the nearby town of Cayenne. There, he hopes to convince his estranged wife (Helen Westcott) to resume their life together, but his arrival causes a sensation. With more young bucks gunning for him, Ringo's fate lies within the hands of the sheriff (Millard Mitchell), his old bandit partner.