Three weeks before Christmas, the little town of Chug Water in Wyoming Territory is stunned by a brutal crime. The mayor's family has been slaughtered in cold blood on their ranch outside of Raw Hide Butte. As the townsfolk gather to pay their last respects, Duff MacCallister saddles up to go after the killers. He returns with two outlaws - a cold-blooded, nasty pair of snakes, Jesse and T. Bob Cave. But the day before they're sentenced to hang, the Cave brothers escape their fate. Into this holiday hell-storm ride three friendly travelers. Smoke, Sally and Matt Jensen, come to spend Christmas with Duff. But a deadly diphtheria outbreak leaves the town beholden to the mercy of the Cave brothers. It's a desperate bind to be stuck in, but Duff and the Jensens will use every bullet they can find to shoot their way into a bloody but merry Christmas.