Jim Cleve has been deemed, "a good guy" all of his life and it agitates him to no end. Even his girlfriend, Joan Randle has scorned him for this "weakness" shouting, "You haven't it in you even to be BAD!" Dejected and hurt, Jim abandons the life he has known for the gold mining camps along Alder Gulch in southern Montana. It is here, among the thieves and murderers, that he must make a new name for himself.
