Young men from the lower classes of society have found a home and a job on John Tanstall's farm. Tanstall also educates them, teaches them to read and write and to follow certain rules. Anyone who does not follow the rules has to go back to the streets. A new "addition" arrives on the farm, a self-confident young man called Billy Kid. Unlike the others, he can read, but he behaves somewhat eccentrically. The sheriff informs Tanstall that the other farmers, Dullen and Murphy, accuse his boys of the recent raids on their wagons with goods, but he bravely defends his boys. Even though Murphy then threatens him personally, he is convinced that as an honest man he has the same rights as the others who are a thorn in his side. He decides to meet with the governor and reveal the real culprits, but Murphy is faster. He raids Tanstall's farm and in a shootout Tanstall is killed. His men decide to avenge Tanstall, and thus begins a small war between Murphy's followers and Tanstall's boys...