Initially resistant to becoming a lawman, Wyatt Earp has a change of heart after seeing the sheriff of Ellsworth, Kansas murdered by the inebriated brother of town scourge Ben Thompson.

Earp jails Ben Thompson in the hope that his brother Bill will attempt a jailbreak, but the Marshall underestimates the naive Abbie Crandall, who is also determined to help Ben escape.

Earp's insistence on patiently stalking the Thompson brothers with a pair of Indian scouts doesn't sit well with some Ellsworth citizens who demand immediate capture of the two fugitives.

A quick-tempered former Confederate officer with a grudge against Wyatt threatens to destroy Ellsworth if Wyatt is not immediately stripped of his badge and run out of town.

Wyatt leaves Ellsworth and becomes the Marshall of Wichita. His first challenge is a group of local vigilantes intent on hanging a man that may have been acting in self-defense.

Bennett hires a gunman to shoot Earp who brags he has faced down Earp before. However, Earp doesn't know him so he suspects there is more to the gunman's story.