As a young man, John Bannack worked hard on his brother's farm -- until times got tough and his brother grew desperate. Desperate enough to rob a bank. Unfortunately, John's brother left a trail that led straight to the Bannack farm. When a posse showed up to make an arrest, John made a fateful decision: He confessed to his brother's crime. Sacrificed his freedom for the sake of his brother's family. And doomed himself to a hard, hellish life in a rat-hole state prison ... A man's got two choices in a place like that: Get tough or get killed. Bannack is on a work detail outside the prison. On the way back, Judge Wick Justice, who sentenced Bannack, tags along with the prison wagon, only to find he has involved himself in a planned prison break. When a gang ambushes the wagon and frees the prisoners, they bullet-blast the guards -- and the judge takes a hunk of lead himself. But Bannack finds the judge alive and takes him to safety. In return, the judge releases him from prison and employs him as his bodyguard and avenger. For John Bannack it means this will be a one-way trip to Hell.