In the Old West, confidence man Dan Kehoe outrides a trio of pursuing horsemen and reaches a small town where a funeral director and a bartender tell him about the five McDade widows in the nearby town of Wagon Mound. Ma McDade had four sons, Boone, Matt, Prince and Roy, who two years earlier, robbed a stagecoach of one hundred thousand dollars in gold and retreated to Wagon Mound, but were followed by a sheriff and his posse. The boys were hiding in a barn when an explosion shattered it, killing all but one of the brothers. The identity of the brother who escaped is unknown. The bartender, a member of the posse, tells Dan that the gold's location was never discovered and that the brothers’ respective wives, Sabina, Ruby, Birdie, and Oralie, joined their husbands’ tough, old, widowed mother to await the return of the one living brother and their share of the spoils. Recognizing the potential for riches, Dan decides to head for Wagon Mound. Before Dan leaves, the bartender gives him a twenty-dollar piece with a bullet hole in it that he found near the barn and tells him that all the brothers wore one around their necks. Feigning that he is on the run from the law, Dan rides past a “Keep Out” sign into the burned-out town of Wagon Mound, and is shot in the arm by Ma. The four young widows are excited by the arrival of the handsome, virile stranger and are soon competing for his attention. To explain his presence there, Dan pretends to have met a man who told him that if he was ever in trouble, he should go to Wagon Mound. Although Ma wonders why the man, possibly her only living son, did not send her a message, she allows Dan to stay overnight, but locks him in his room. The next day, Ma assigns the aloof and enigmatic Sabina to change the bandage on Dan’s wound and announces that he will be leaving later that day. Dan meets the other widows, the flighty Birdie, a former “actress”; the conniving Ruby and the demure Oralie, all of whom are anxious to win over Dan. Ma cannot tolerate her man-hungry, daughters-in-law lusting after Dan and is anxious that he move on. Just as Dan is about to leave, Sheriff Tom Larrabee and a posse arrive, having been told that Dan is the returning McDade brother. After the sheriff informs Dan that there is a five-thousand dollar reward for the capture of McDade and another five thousand if the gold is recovered, Dan offers to notify him if the brother returns by ringing the church bell. When the posse leaves, Dan manages to convince Ma that he should stay on a little longer until the rains come. Later, each of the young widows, except Sabina, attempts to seduce Dan into forming an alliance to find the gold and leave with her. When Ruby tells Dan that she is sure that Ma knows where the gold is hidden, Dan disappears and when Ma searches for him, he watches as she checks a gravesite in the cemetery. The rains come and as Dan prepares to depart, Sabina tells him she is surprised that he is leaving without the gold and observes that the coin he carries must have come from its original owner, who sent him to collect the gold. When Dan denies knowing where the gold is hidden, Sabina admits that she knows where it is and has only been waiting for a strong man to help her recover it. Sabina and Dan agree that they will meet later, outside of town. The other women watch sadly as Dan rides off, but he returns secretly to take the buckboard and, when he meets Sabina, shows her that he already has the gold on board. Stunned, Sabina asks why he waited for her and Dan explains that, of the four women, he found her to be the most compatible. Meanwhile, Ruby alerts Ma that Sabina is missing and Ma rushes to the grave, but finds it empty. While they ride in the buckboard, Sabina confesses to Dan that Boone was the brother who survived but that they were never married. Shortly after Boone told her about the gold, he was killed and she decided to pose as his widow. Suddenly, the church bell tolls as Ma alerts the sheriff. Soon the posse is hot on their heels and Dan, aware that they will be caught, decides to cut his losses by stopping the buckboard and unloading all of the gold except for one sack, which he gives to Sabina. After telling her to ride on and give the sack to a priest, who is safekeeping his other money, Dan says he will catch up with her later. When the sheriff and posse arrive, Dan informs them that it was he who rang the bell, as he had found the gold and needed an escort, and that he has taken the five thousand due him as a reward. Dan then rides to the mission, where the priest tells him that, upon being informed by Dan’s lovely wife that Dan had been hanged, he gave all of the money to her. Dan chases after Sabina, but finds her waiting for him with the money intact. After Sabina suggests to Dan that they make a good team because they are kindred souls, and that it is no fun winning the game if you are alone, they ride off together.