Doc Frail (Gary Cooper) is a silent drifter who rides into a lawless Montana town afflicted with gold fever. In very little time, he quickly proves himself to be equally as adept with a deck of cards and a gun as he is with his medicine. He saves Rune (Ben Piazza) from a lynching, and Elizabeth (Maria Schell) , nearly dead from exposure to the elements. Both are indebted to him for his interventions on their behalf. The villain Frenchie (Karl Malden) is an evil prospector who tries to take Rune's life and Elizabeth's virtue. When gold is discovered, an angry drunken mob threatens to set fire to the town and hang Doc in the process, apparently just for fun. George C. Scott makes an appearance in the film as the religious fanatic, Grubb.