After being framed by saloonkeeper Luke Starr (Broderick Crawford), young Jess Carlin (Audie Murphy), a former lawman known simply as The Texican, retreats to a Mexican village to find sanctuary. Upon returning to Rimrock, Texas, Carlin is determined to clear his good name and to avenge the death of his brother, a crusading newspaper editor. And though Starr's gunmen are after him, Jess relies on his own hard riding, fast guns and forceful fists to help him escape. When Kit O'Neal, the woman Starr has tried in vain to marry, falls for Jess, the saloonkeeper is outraged. As the expectation of a showdown hangs in the air, one by one, Jess cuts down the challengers sent by Luke. And when there is no one left, Luke must engage in an inevitable face-to-face confrontation with the mild-tempered man everyone knows as The Texican.