After the Civil War, Colonel Jonathan Wainwright is unable to adjust to his old life in Boston as a doctor, so he joins a wagon train bound for Santa Fe. The train is attacked by Indians and renegades, and his experience in the Union cavalry soon has him fighting in another war. Meanwhile, he is drawn to two very different women: Jane Howard, a lively girl with a traumatic past, and Yellow Leaf, an Osage who joins the train for her own reasons. Yellow Leaf's presence antagonizes those who lost loved ones in Indian attacks, but Jonathan finds her a fascinating companion and guide. Upon reaching Santa Fe, Jonathan buys a ranch, and soon finds himself threatened by the Santa Fe Ring, a criminal organization intent on killing him and seizing his land. The Ring's hired guns steal Jonathan's cattle, attack the ranch, and kidnap Yellow Leaf to sell her into slavery, the vestiges of which still exist in Santa Fe. Ultimately, the Ring is destroyed, and Jonathan finds peace with the woman he loves.