A snowbound ranching family is threatened by both internal conflicts and a deadly, cunning predator in this offbeat Western from John Wayne's Batjac production company. Robert Mitchum stars as Curt Bridges, one of three sons born to stern matriarch Ma Bridges (Beulah Bondi) and her weak, alcoholic husband (Philip Tonge). With the ranch's cattle falling prey to the elusive killer cat, Bridges and his two brothers, Arthur (William Hopper) and Harold (Tab Hunter), are forced to confront the beast to save the family's herd. Teresa Wright is their bitter, unmarried sister, and Diana Lynn is the young neighbor who sets tensions - and passions - aflame amidst the family's mounting crisis.