To avenge the death of their chief's son, the Kiowa Indians kidnap the son of frontier commander John Harkness (George Peppard). Of course, John wants to rescue his son, but his first priority is protecting everyone inside his fort. If he doesn't act carefully, he could jeopardize the lives of the innocent civilians he's guarding and start a full-blown war with more than 2,000 Kiowa warriors.