In 1875, in Arizona Territory, rancher John Rutherford plans to forcibly evict all squatters from his lands. The rancher welcomes his son Roy who has just returned home from England. He also hires a group of mercenaries to assist him in evicting squatters from his property. These hired goons and cutthroats are paid 500 dollars each. Their foreman is Hook who owes his nickname to the hook that replaced his missing right hand. Rutherford has also brought along his bookkeeper, Mr. Avery, to pay the men. During the Civil War, Mr. Avery avoided the draft, due to his bad health but he proudly wears a Confederate officer`s uniform. On Rutherford`s lands there is one remaining unfriendly squatter, Corey Everett, who stubbornly refuses to leave. His shack is at the deep end of a boxed canyon. Corey Everett has transformed his shack into a reinforced fortress.