Just after making a large gold discovery, an old prospector is ambushed and killed by three masked men but manages to kill two of his attackers before he dies. He also manages to scribble out a will, which is given to detective “Silver” Ward Hogan, who is hired to track down the legitimate heirs and to try to find the third murderer.
丹斯雷（柯克道格拉斯Kirk Douglas 饰）是一名流浪的牛仔，一次偶然之中，他结识了名为杰夫（威廉坎贝尔William Campbell 饰）的男子，两人之间结下了深厚的友谊。在老相好艾多妮（克莱尔特雷弗Claire Trevor 饰）的介绍之下，丹斯雷和杰夫来到了工头司翠普（杰伊C弗利朋Jay C. Flippen 饰）手下干活。
波恩小姐（珍妮克雷恩Jeanne Crain 饰）成为了丹斯雷和杰夫的新老板，一连串的误会和意外让丹斯雷决定辞职走人，但是波恩小姐极力挽留。最终，丹斯雷决定直面他惨淡的过去。然而最终，丹斯雷还是无法习惯受制于人的生活，他辞去了农场的工作，重新踏上了旅途，做回了自由自在的流浪牛仔。
A crazed artist who believes himself to be the reincarnation of a murderous vampire kills young women, then boils their bodies in a vat.
