A breathless, explosive story!

When a convict (Robert Redford) escapes from the state penitentiary, heads for home and becomes involved in a murder, the peace of a small Texas town is shattered. Most of the citizens, led by a banker/oil tycoon (E.G. Marshall), see him as a criminal to be hounded and brought to justice. Only the town sheriff (Brando) believes him to be innocent and prepares to stand by him; but when the mob decide to take the law into their own hands, even he is powerless to prevent them from taking revenge and turning the town into a place of terror...