Halted with a broken wagon axle, west-bound on the Oregon Trail, pioneers Eve Maddison and Wesley Jackson encounter a mysterious frontiersman known simply as 'Stranger'. They also run up against the vicious Viperine brothers, in charge of a local militia and plotting to extort money from the stranded pioneers. Stranger insists that everyone is judged by their actions on the trail. His philosophy of courage and self-reliance inspires Eve and Wesley to make a stand against the Viperines - and face up to some difficult truths...