In the East, the Civil War rages on. The mountains of California seem remote and untouched by the struggle of the young nation. Tom Dawson has found a refuge from the political and social conflicts running a small ranch with his brother beneath Shadow Ridge. This man with a restless past, his "rugged, sun-browned face creviced from the weather like a landscape," discovers some measure of peace and happiness at Shadow Ridge with his brother's little family. Then comes the news that the stagecoach has been robbed and six people murdered by a gang of rebel sympathizers stealing Union gold for the South. Without warning, the turmoil of Dawson's past returns.