Conner Jerod loves his father but cannot think of him without shame. Josiah has just served eighteen months for sheep-stealing in 1890s Nevada. Conner's best friend, Dorsel, insists Josiah is innocent, but Conner still remembers his father telling him innocent men do not get sent to prison. He finds it hard to look at the pallid man getting off the train after his parole, let alone forgive him. This is especially so since, for months, he has meekly endured the taunts of Derek Gray, son of the man whose testimony convicted his father. Then, some things start happening that cause him to question the righteousness of his father's conviction. For starters, Hatch Morgan, Dorsel's alcoholic father, has a meeting with the Grays, then turns up knifed and near death. At the doctor's office, Hatch tells Dorsel his attacker was trying to stop him from disclosing evidence he found in the Emerald Mountains that proves Josiah did not steal the sheep. Convinced the Grays are involved and that the sheriff will not stand up to them, Conner and Dorsel set off on their own to find Hatch's evidence. What they find tests their courage and nearly costs their lives.