Ben Hite, veteran of the recent Civil War, former member of Berdan's sniper Regiment, ventures west to the Montana gold fields searching for prosperity and a new life. While working his claim, he becomes embroiled in the looming struggle against the organized lawless element which is preying upon the miners. He also becomes responsible for a group of orphaned children who desperately cling to the man who rescued them from death in the fierce Montana winter. Somehow he must keep himself and his new family alive as he battles outlaws, Indians and the raw elements of the Montana frontier. To do that, he relies on his war experiences and his prowess with his knife, his Colt revolver and 1859 Sharps rifle.