Against the arduous back-drop of the 1880's New Mexico Territory comes the epic tale of friendship and loyalty. Abel Shipstead is a gentle and easy-going man who has built himself a small ranch tucked in a remote valley resting on the foot of a mountain about six miles from the town of Copperville. He dreams of success so that he may ask for the hand of the beautiful Kathleen McGregor in marriage. Kathleen is spirited and the daughter of the couple who own the town's general store. Abel leads a simple life, one that is free from entanglements that could threaten his plans for the future. Then one stormy and cold night his dog throws a fit at some commotion outside near the barn and Abel checks it out and finds a gun-shot man who has fallen from his horse and is laying there, clinging to life. Abel takes him inside and begins nursing him back to health. When the stranger awakens it is many days later and by then it has become obvious that the stranger is a gunfighter. The man is wary and tight-lipped about his past and it is some time later that he finally utters his name. Caine. Caine is a name that is whispered throughout the southwest and is known to be a man not to be trifled with. Though the two men are so different, they begin a friendship that grows with each passing day. Abel becomes town sheriff and Caine is there to watch his back. But the greatest threat is unexpected and by far the worse. Fate rears its ugly head when Kathleen and Caine meet in a chance encounter and fall in love. Amidst heart-stopping gunfights, gut-wrenching circumstances, and impossible odds, the two friends battle side by side until the final climax is reached. Caine must then choose between the only love of his life and the great friendship that he cherishes.