Kirk Douglas stars as a U.S. Marshal who refuses to allow an innocent man to hang in a Western set in the high country Along the Great Divide. U.S. Marshal Len Merrick (Douglas) stops the lynching of Pop Keith (Walter Brennan), who's accused of rustling cattle and murder. Merrick takes Keith to a distant town where he can get a fair trial, but Merrick is still convicted of the crimes and sentenced to death. Only when Merrick--with the help of Keith's beautiful daughter, Ann (Virginia Mayo)--apprehends the real killer does the innocent Merrick go free.