Cal, who has been brutalized by her husband throughout their marriage, does not trust Oakhurst, but as they search for the cabin, they meet young Tom Dakin and his fiancée, Piney Wilson, who remember where the cabin is. Duchess hurts her ankle when a mountain lion spooks her horse, and Oakhurst, knowing that she cannot travel far in the increasing cold, searches for a cabin he vaguely remembers. Oakhurst strikes out on his own, but the women and Jake, having no one else to turn to, follow him into the mountains. Cal is also cast out for having been seen with Ryker, although no one knows that she is married to him. The next day, the irate citizens decide to rid their town of bad influences and so banish gambler John Oakhurst, lady of the evening 'Duchess' Shipton and Jake Watterson, an old drunkard. While his cohorts are shot down in the street, Ryker gives the loot to his long-suffering wife Cal and orders her to stay in Poker Flat until he sends for her. In the mid-1800s, in the gold-mining town of Poker Flat, sadistic criminal Ryker and his henchman rob the bank and kill two passersby.
