During an attempted robbery in a Nebraska frontier town, a young storekeeper, Matt McKay kills the brother of a murderous gang leader, Jack Moss.

Fearing the outlaw's revenge, Matt's father takes him to Colorado and hires and once-feared gunfighter, Tom Patterson, to teach him the gun skills needed for self-defense and survival.

For a sizable sum of money, Patterson accepts the task even though he views the young man too gentle and innocent to survive a gun battle with an accomplished killer. On his rundown ranch high in the Rocky Mountains, the gruff, older gunslinger imposes days of gun-handling practices, hoping to instill a killer instinct in the easygoing Matt.

In the nearby rowdy mining town of Gold Stream, Matt has the opportunity to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of his mentor. In eventful situations, Patterson's friends and enemies make Gold Stream a site of entertainment and danger. With the threat of the Moss gang's retribution ever present, Matt and Tom Patterson form a bond of mutual respect and resolve as they await a fatal showdown.