Schoolteacher Konrad Diamond falls afoul of cattle baron Ernst Haeckel. Rather than invite more trouble, Diamond and his sister Lila light out for new pastures. But the vindictive Haeckel puts a price on Diamond's head, and the bounty hunters are coming for him. The teacher and his sister fall in with Gusty Gillespie, a battle-scarred bruiser, and then fate throws the trio into the path of Jacob Millard, who is on a rescue mission for a young girl kidnapped from his town. Konrad, Lila, and Gusty try to persuade him. It is a suicidal enterprise. But what the hell! They say blood is thicker than water. The group of four wade through a crimson tide as they ride the dark trail and do battle with bounty hunters, Cheyenne warriors, crooked lawmen, and outlaws. No one can foretell which of them will survive, if any.