Lured by the prospect of making a lot of money from hides, Cade McCall joins other buffalo hunters to follow the herd south into hunting land set aside, by treaty, for Indians. The Indians, in defense of their hunting rights, attack the buffalo hunters at Adobe Walls. Cade and 27 other buffalo hunters must defend themselves against a combined force of Comanche, Kiowa, and Cheyenne, numbering as many as 1000 warriors.