Paladin rides into a Texas town at Christmas time and encounters a saloon full of merrymakers. Soon afterward a cowboy brings in a pregnant girl who may not survive the impending birth. The town doctor is down for his annual drunken stupor. Paladin tries to enlist help but the the patrons would rather party.
Mary Ellen is an orphan traveling west to join family, but members of the train reject her due to her surly disposition. Her only friend is Sally Mayhew, another girl traveling west with her family dying of consumption.