Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is set to retire as marshal of a small Western village and marry his sweetheart (Grace Kelly), when he learns that three old enemies are in town and a fourth is on the way. Will's friends and neighbors tell him to leave, and he does, but his pride gets the better of him and he returns, with the hope that the community will band together and root out the bad men. But as the fourth villain approaches on the noon train, Will realizes his colleagues are backing down and he'll have to fight the four alone.