Red Mountain

In 1865, as the Civil War nears its end, Broken Bow, Colorado assayer Jim Braden is shot and killed in his office with a bullet that Marshal Roberts identifies as Confederate issue. Townsmen immediately conclude that prospector Lane Waldron, a former Rebel soldier, is responsible, as he was seen racing from the office shortly before the murder. An angry posse forms and intercepts Lane on the rocky trail outside town. Although Lane proclaims his innocence, stating that Braden had merely assayed a sample from his recent gold strike, the posse prepares to lynch him. Seconds before he is to hang, however, the rope is shot in two. Lane dashes off on his horse, and he and his armed benefactor elude the posse. Once safe at Lane's hideaway cabin, his rescuer introduces himself as Brett Sherwood and reveals that he found the sample that Lane had dropped and knows that he did not murder Braden. That night, Lane grabs Brett's gun while he is sleeping, then noting that it is Confederate issue, accuses him of killing Braden. In response, Brett reaches for his rifle and informs Lane that he emptied the gun's chamber before retiring. Brett makes Lane his prisoner, and the next day, holds Chris, Lane's girl friend, at gunpoint when she shows up at the cabin. Brett then sets off, leaving the couple behind, but Lane insists on following him, hoping he can use him to clear his name. Lane and Chris eventually overtake Brett and tie him up. That night, while Lane sleeps, Chris tells Brett that her family was massacred by William Quantrill's Confederate raiders and she is pro-Union. In turn, Brett describes how Union general Sherman burned his family's Southern home. As they talk, Brett works to free his hands and takes Chris by surprise. Armed, Brett prepares to flee and leave Lane and Chris with only one horse, but Lane fights back. In the struggle, however, Lane falls down a cliff and breaks his leg. Feeling responsible, Brett carries Lane up to a cliffside cave to protect him from an oncoming storm. The rain passes, but just as Brett is about to abandon Lane and Chris, a Union patrol is spotted below. Suspicious, Brett approaches them alone and is surprised to discover that the patrol's leader is General Quantrill, the man he has been sent to meet. Quantrill introduces Brett, who is a Confederate captain, to his men, who include a group of Ute Indians. Although Brett is wary of the Indians, he agrees to help Quantrill with his crusade to claim the West for the foundering Confederacy. While a guard, Skee, is assigned to watch Chris and Lane, a Ute scout announces that the posse has been sighted. Concerned that they will discover the Union detail he massacred, Quantrill orders that the posse be eliminated. Quantrill, who has made a pact with various hostile Indian tribes, then shows Brett where the ambush took place, and Brett is disgusted to see that the soldiers were scalped. Back at the cave, Skee assaults Chris, but she gets his gun, and the crippled Lane ends up shooting him. Lane then fires a final round to alert the posse as it rides by, and the posse defends itself when Quantrill's men swoop down on them. After the ensuing gun battle, Brett, who has fallen in love with Chris, tries to buy the prisoners time by telling Quantrill about Lane's gold strike. The egomaniacal Quantrill is reluctant to deviate from his plan until Brett convinces him that the surviving posse members will not be able to receive help from the Cavalry for two days. Brett then advises Chris that if she promises to remain silent about Quantrill, he will free her. Despite her attraction to Brett, Chris angrily refuses his deal, and later, Sgt. Randall tries to torture Lane into revealing the mine's location. Lane is delirious with fever, however, and Chris convinces Randall that Lane cannot talk until he is treated by a doctor. Chris and Randall sneak into Broken Bow and kidnap Dr. Terry, and once in the cave, Terry operates on Lane's infected leg. Despite the operation's success, Quantrill decides to move out in the morning, with or without the information. Aware that Quantrill has ordered Chris and Lane killed, Brett tries to warn the prisoners but is caught by one of Quantrill's men. Brett beats the man to death, then gives Lane and Chris enough ammunition to defend themselves and helps Terry to sneak away on horseback. After Brett scatters Quantrill's horses, he joins Lane and Chris in the cave, and a gun battle ensues. During a lull, Terry's horse and slain body appear, so Brett rappels down the backside of the cliff and rides to Broken Bow. Quantrill and the Indians surround the cave, and Lane is shot by a Ute. In the cave, a dying Lane tells Chris that he wants her to share the gold mine with Brett and is shot again. Chris kills his attacker, then the posse, having been alerted by Brett, rides up, followed by the Cavalry. During the melee, Brett is shot by Quantrill, but shoots and kills the general in return. Later, the recuperating Brett confesses that Braden stole his claim and Brett shot him when he went for his gun. After the marshal notes that Braden stole many claims and deserved his fate, Chris tells Brett that the war is over. Free of the past, Chris and Brett look forward to a new life together.