During Paladin's stagecoach layover in a small Western town, a burr under a saddle causes a horse to buck off its new rider, a rancher's wife, injuring her severely. The attractive young woman had just gotten off the stagecoach with Paladin, so the real culprit takes advantage of her husband's jealousy to pin the blame on the stranger in black. Paladin flees, so the locals form a vigilante posse.