After a bank robbery goes wrong, outlaw Billy Two Hats (Desi Arnaz Jr.) is captured by Sheriff Gifford (Jack Warden). Billy's partner, Arch Deans (Gregory Peck), rescues him, but during the escape Deans gets shot in the leg. The wound leaves Deans unable to ride a horse, but Billy refuses to leave him behind. Instead, he builds a horse-drawn cot for him, and they continue together. The apparatus slows them down, however, making them even more vulnerable to capture from the pursuing sheriff.