Elvis plays Pacer Burton, a half-breed youth in the Old West torn between loyalty to the whites, as represented by his father (John McIntyre), and the Indians, represented by his mother (Dolores Del Rio). A series of brutal Kiowa raids, and the subsequent reprisals by the white settlers, sorely test Pacer's fortitude. Though offered moral support by his parents and by his girlfriend (Barbara Eden), Pacer is forced to work things out himself. The ending, like all that has preceded it, is surprisingly strong and uncompromising.