 During Paladin s stagecoach layover in a small Western town, a burr under a saddle causes a horse to buck off its new rider, a rancher s wife, injuring her severely. The attractive young woman had just gotten off the stagecoach with Paladin, so the real culprit takes advantage of her husband s jealousy to pin the blame on the stranger in black. Paladin flees, so the locals form a vigilante posse.