In 1904, sixteen-year-old Billy Pinto watches as the three men accused of murdering his Shoshone mother are set free, simply because the judge and prosecuting attorney don’t believe they can successfully try white men for the killing of an Indian. Stunned by the court’s decision, Billy decides to take justice into his own hands. He ambushes the three killers outside of town, then kidnaps the judge’s granddaughter before fleeing into the remote San Pedro Mountains.

The job of tracking down Billy Pinto falls to Sheriff Hudson Pratt, who knows the only way he can stop the rising tide of violence between the Indians and Anglos of San Pedro County is to find Billy and rescue the kidnapped child–before the young man’s crime explodes into a full-fledged war.