Gunslinger Quirt Evans (John Wayne) is injured and found by Penelope Worth (Gail Russell) and her father Thomas (John Halloran), a Quaker family with values and a way of living in contrast to Quirt Evans. Quirt and Penelope are drawn to each other, although Quirt has no intention of embracing the Quaker lifestyle. He does, however intervene to convince a rancher to restore their water supply, even if the family would not have approved of his methods...
Evan's rival Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot) is unimpressed with the new, peaceful Quirt Evans, whilst local Marshall Wistful McClintock (Harry Carey) stokes up the trouble between the two men, certain he'll get one or the other (the survivor) brought to justice in the end...
Widely regarded as one of the most romantic of all John Wayne's film, this marked his first production credit.
