A laconic ex-hired gun in the Old West teams up with three scrappy female prisoners abandoned in the desert, two orphaned children, an army deserter, and a group of cantankerous animals, all of whom try to outsmart and outshoot a ratty gang of desperadoes trying to retrieve their boss' girlfriend and the saddle-tramp's secret cargo.

A small Army patrol unit and a couple of former Confederates reluctantly throw in their lot together after being attacked by a band of Native Americans.