Dan Evans (Van Heflin) was at the wrong place at the wrong time. In 1880s Arizona, he and his two sons witness Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) and his gang rob a stagecoach and murder its occupants. They have no choice but to let it happen; they’re three against 12.
“You can’t just stand by and watch,” his wife Alice (Leora Dana) urges Dan when he and the kids get home without the horses that Wade stole. But she’s not just talking about the robbers; Evans has grown increasingly pessimistic about the world around him. His ranch is in trouble, and the possibility of improvement is slim.
