Fred MacMurray stars as a ranch herder Will Keough who wants nothing more than to tend to his cattle and live in peace in Gun for a Coward. His two younger brothers, Hade (Dean Stockwell) and Bless (Jeffrey Hunter) are as different as night and day - Hade is wild and reckless and Bless refuses to use a gun, branding him a coward. Making matters worse is the brothers' merciless mother (Josephine Hutchinson) and Will's sweetheart (Janice Rule) who finds herself drawn to the sensitive Bless. Ultimately, a showdown will have to take place but which sibling will survive?