When a yearly high-stakes poker game begins between the five richest men in Laredo, Texas, all other activity in the Wild West town comes to a stop as everyone gathers to watch the action. Recovering gambler Meredith (Henry Fonda), passing through town on the way to San Antonio, gets roped into the game by lawyer Otto Habershaw (Kevin McCarthy). When the stress of the game becomes too much to bear, his disapproving wife, Mary (Joanne Woodward), must step in to save the family fortune.