Ben (Dana Andrews), a hunter, ventures into the dangerous Okefenokee Swamp despite protests from his father, Thursday (Walter Huston). There, he's captured and held prisoner by Tom Keefer (Walter Brennan) a fugitive who has been hiding in the swamp. Tom allows Ben to leave on the condition that he split his hunting profits with Tom's daughter, Julie (Anne Baxter), who lives in town. Ben agrees, and, after a fight with his father, moves to a home closer to Julie and gradually falls for her.