During the final days of the American Civil War, the Union army payroll train is hijacked by Confederates led by Capt. Pierre Cordona and Sgt. Tuscarora Phillips. Their scheme suggests that the Confederates must have gotten detailed inside information about the transport. During the pursuit, Col. Cord McNally’s close friend, Lt. Ned Forsythe, is fatally injured, and McNally vows vengeance. His squad is spread thinner and thinner, until McNally is left on his own. After Cordona and his men capture him, McNally tricks them by leading them into a Union camp and raising the alarm. Cordona and Tuscarora are captured but will not reveal to McNally the identity of the traitor who sold them the information about the train.