Desperate to find a new marshal after losing the last three in three months, the gold mining town of Yankee Hill, Colorado, runs a newspaper advertisement to find someone brave enough to restore law and order. Former slave and Union soldier Willie Kennard answers the ad, but skeptical town councilmen won't give him the job until he proves his worth. Without hesitation, Kennard walks across the street and arrests the town bully after gunning down two of his henchmen. Next, Kennard must stop Billy McGeorge and his gang from robbing trains and passengers of newly mined gold. Unable to recruit a single deputy to his cause, Marshal Kennard must make his stand alone. Years later, a friend and employer of Kennard implores reporter Bat Masterson to write about the trailblazing marshal before his heroic story is lost forever.