Rawhide plot
Tom Owens works as an assistant to old Sam Todd at his stagecoach way station 'Rawhide', located between San Francisco and St. Louis. When a stagecoach arrives with, among others, the feisty Vinnie Holt, who is carrying her niece's baby, Tom advises her not to continue traveling, but to wait a day. Tom learns that a band of escaped outlaws is nearby. Not long after, the violent outlaw gang led by Zimmerman arrives. Sam is killed by Zimmerman's psychopathic henchman Tevis. The "civilized" Zimmerman leaves Tom, Vinnie and the baby alive because he thinks they are a married couple. However, they are held hostage. Tom devises a plan to escape. Zimmerman, meanwhile, waits with his three accomplices for a gold transport.