As the stagecoach bound for the western town of Fury pulls into a relay station, it is attacked by a band of outlaws led by Lorenzo Garcia and his sadistic henchman, Miguel Torres. To intimidate passengers Barbara Duval, Lester Farrell, Ralph Slader, Ann Stewart and an unnamed, nervous little man into cooperating with them, Lorenzo shoots the nervous man and then declares that the rest will be detained until the gold shipment is removed from the stage. After a thorough search yields no gold, Lorenzo asks stage driver Tim O'Connors about the shipment. When Tim evades his question, Lorenzo shoots him in the leg and then threatens to kill him unless the stage guard, Frank Townsend, divulges the information. Frank, a former cavalry captain with an abiding sense of decency and honor, informs Lorenzo that the gold shipment is to be delivered by wagon to the relay station. Barbara, a shameless flirt, then castigates her fellow passengers for their spinelessness. When Frank blames himself for their predicament, Ann, his fiancée, tries to reassure him. Miguel then forces himself on the voluptuous Barbara as the others watch in silence. No longer able to contain himself, Frank pulls Miguel off Barbara, and is promptly set upon by the other bandits. Miguel is about to kill Frank when Lorenzo intervenes and observes that Barbara is not worth defending. The insightful Lorenzo then calls attention to the wickedness in Barbara's eyes, causing Barbara's thoughts to drift back to the time just before she began her journey: Lusting for her husband's money, Barbara entices her lover, Zick, to kill him. After Barbara promises to meet him in the town of Cornell, Zick rides off to execute her husband while she stuffs the cash into her suitcase and then betrays Zick by purchasing a ticket to Fury. Barbara's thoughts return to the present, and Frank becomes determined to warn the gold wagon of its impending danger by firing a series of gunshots. When Frank tries to enlist Ralph, a cocky young gunslinger, to help, Ralph balks and declares that Lorenzo will kill them all. Soon after, Slader tries to sneak out an open window past a dozing guard, but is caught by the waiting outlaws. The foolhardy Slader then challenges Lorenzo to a gunfight. As Slader awaits his fate, he remembers his latest triumph, the murder of Sheriff Ross: Determined to make his reputation, Slader sets out to kill Ross, the man who shot down notorious gunslinger John Thorne. When Slader confronts Ross in the local saloon, the bartender orders him to leave at gunpoint. Upon finishing his drink, Ross strolls out into the street, where Slader guns him down before he has a chance to draw. His thoughts returning to the present, Slader finds that he is face to face with Miguel, not the more honorable Lorenzo. Although Lorenzo instructs them to fire at the count of three, Miguel shoots at the count of two, killing Slader. When Frank discovers that the two outlaws guarding them do not speak English, he presses Lester, a cowardly judge, into slugging one guard when Frank gives him the signal. After threatening to expose their plan, Barbara tries to cajole Miguel into letting her escape, and he offers her a horse. As she begins to ride away, Miguel then orders his men to shoot her. Trying to summon his courage, Lester reflects on his previous acts of cowardice: When two killers he had sentenced to jail send him threatening letters, the judge decides to move to Fury rather than face his tormentors. After his wife Sarah denounces his cowardice, the outlaws appear at his door. Sarah tries to face them down on the porch, but they force their way into the house, throw her to the floor and drag the judge outside. As Sarah fires at her husband's attackers through an open window, the sheriff comes to arrest them. Sarah then warns Lester that the day will come when he will have to stand and fight. Realizing that day has finally arrived, the judge strikes one of the guards at Frank's signal while Frank wrestles the rifle away from the other and fires the warning shots. Alerted by the sounds of gunfire, the gold wagon takes refuge in the hills. While Frank rides to help defend the wagon, two bandits return to the relay station and shoot the judge. After ascending a towering peak, Frank fires at the outlaws below, causing Lorenzo to ride off. Frank follows, and the two then gallop toward each other, rifles ablaze. Frank blasts Lorenzo off his horse, then rides back to the relay station. With the outlaws vanquished, the stage continues its journey.