Sheriff Henry Tawes (Gregory Peck) is a by-the-book lawmaker who holds everyone to his rigorously held standards, but when he encounters Alma McCain (Tuesday Weld), he finds himself unable to tame his wilder side. Unfortunately, Alma is the daughter of a local moonshiner, Carl McCain (Ralph Meeker), whom Tawes has been trying to shut down. Instead, he clears the way for McCain to carry on, and even after a fellow officer is shot due to his carelessness, Tawes is unable to give up his desire for Alma, and abandons his own wife (Estelle Parsons) to chase her.
