When Ben goes missing and presumed dead after being shot by a poacher he was hunting alone, his sons search for the seemingly likely suspects: three innocent ex-convicts who fear being so suspected.
Three men newly released from Huntsville prison make their way across the Ponderosa. When Ben and Little Joe see someone is poaching their cattle, Ben goes after them. When he comes upon those responsible, he is ambushed and left for dead. When only his horse returns to the ranch, the sons set off to find Ben's missing rifle at best or at the worst his killers.—DrDOS