In 1870s America, relations between whites and the Apaches are at an all-time low, with the latter treated unfairly by the frontiersmen. The result is bitter warfare, but there seems to be a hope of peace when Apache sympathiser Tom Jeffords (James Stewart) is called upon to negotiate a treaty with the Native American chief, Cochise (Jeff Chandler). A truce is called, and the two men become firm friends. The new status quo is threatened, however, when Jeffords, his Indian wife (Debra Paget) and Cochise are attacked by renegades.