Bonner has been sent to check on conditions in Hornitas, a gold mining camp which supposedly has none of the violence common to such towns. He finds that it is not so different after all, and that the sheriff is crooked and demands protection money from his citizens. Complicating matters, Bonner's only ally in town is a devout pacifist who insists that he check his gun with her and not use it as long as he's in town.
