In the 1880s, followed by bill collectors, the Healy Dramatic Company arrives in Cheyenne to play at the west’s grandest theater. Continental actress Angela and owner-manager Tom Healy head a troupe that includes Della as ingenue, her mother, a character actress, Lorna, and a grand old Shakespearean ham, Doc Montague. After a creditor arrives, Angela collects a night’s receipt from a man named Pierce, the theater owner. She risks it all in a poker game with gunslinger Clint Mabry, puts herself up as collateral, and loses.