Charlie Deegan, former soldier and Army sharpshooter turned brawler and drunk, winds up in Yuma Territorial Prison. Knowing he can't last the remaining nine years of his sentence, Charlie escapes and heads north hoping to become a cowboy. In the harsh Sonora Desert, he discovers a dead miner's hoard of supplies and gets a new chance at life. Then he befriends a cowboy who helps him get a job on a northbound cattle drive. Starting out as the cook's helper, will Charlie be able to prove that he has what it takes to become a real cowboy?