 A riot on an Indian reservation leads to some of the men breaking out and marauding over the plains, terrifying the local whites. In one case, their terror is well-justified: a band breaks into the home of a local rancher and destroys it, killing his wife in the process. Matt and other lawmen come upon a group carrying various stolen items and take them in. The rancher gathers his minions and rides into Dodge vowing to lynch the men. Matt won t back down and insists that the Indians be held for trial. The rancher doesn t dare challenge Matt head-to-head, but Matt soon finds that any trial would be a shambles because the Indians can t speak English. In desperation, Matt shanghais a traveling circuit rider into serving as the Indians  counsel. The rider, Cicero Wolfe (Paul Stevens) finally agrees, but warns Matt that he himself is a half-blooded Cherokee and intends to make the trial a crusade against bigotry. The trial begins in a highly charged atmosphere.