Ninth Cavalry First Sergeant Ben Carter and his men are sent to the little town of Oakton, in New Mexico Territory, to help the sheriff maintain order. Two brothers, Dwight and James Oakley, are at odds over the division of the ranch left to them by their father in his will, and the sheriff fears that it'll escalate into a shooting war that he won't be able to contain.. Very soon, though, Ben learns that there is more to the situation than meets the eye. He must use all his skills, military and diplomatic, to keep things from spiraling out of control.