Plot
A census taker arrives in the Texas town of Cold Iron, population 754. Seeking a cold beer, he enters the local bar and notices a painting of a violent street fight with a gun hanging above it. The bartender explains the story behind the painting, involving a buffalo hunter named Jonas Trapp and the infamous night known as both "The Night of the Reprisal" and "The Night of the Tiger."
In flashback, Jonas Trapp is a poor cowboy in love with wealthy Jessie Larkin. Despite opposition from her aunt, who wants Jessie to marry a man of means, the couple plans to wed. Jessie fakes a pregnancy to gain the aunt's approval, and Jonas reluctantly marries her. Dissatisfied with living off her wealth, Jonas asks Jessie to move with him to Dodge City so he can earn a living as a buffalo hunter. She refuses, and Jonas leaves, promising to return. Over eleven years, he builds his own fortune, while Jessie hears reports that he was killed by a gunfighter, Clay Allison, and believes him dead.
On his return, Jonas stumbles over a campfire and is ambushed by three men: Brooks Durham, the local banker; John "Johnsy Boy" Hood, a vain, sadistic hustler; and Coates, a notorious drunk. Accused of cattle rustling, Jonas is nearly lynched and branded with a hot iron. Left for dead, Durham steals his $17,000. Jonas is discovered and nursed back to health by a farmer named Hanley, but consumed by revenge, he returns to Cold Iron.
Jonas learns that Jessie's aunt has died and that Jessie is now engaged to Durham. When he meets Jessie on the street, she reacts with anger and fear, worried his return will ruin her future. Jonas hunts down the men who wronged him. He confronts Hood after a failed scheme, driving the young man to madness; Hood fatally impales himself with the branding iron and later commits suicide. Jonas also faces the saloon bouncer, nearly killing him in a violent fight before being stopped by his father.
Hanley is revealed as one of the rustlers, and Coates kills him over a dispute about Jonas' money. Coates attempts blackmail, but Durham threatens him, recalling his past exploits with guns. When Jonas finally confronts Durham, the banker admits to branding him and taking his money. Jonas rejects Durham's offer to return the funds, knocking him down. Coates attacks Jonas in drunken rage and is ultimately beaten and killed. Seeking to end the cycle of violence, Jonas leaves his gun on the bar and rides out of town. Jessie pleads with him to stay, but he refuses, leaving her standing in the street as his father urges her to follow.
The frame story resumes with the bartender showing the census taker the pistol Jonas left behind. When asked about Jessie, the bartender explains she left town and neither she nor Jonas was ever seen again. The census taker doubts she pursued him, but the bartender counters, reflecting that "you can never go home again" is only a song and "home" is just a word. As the census taker leaves Cold Iron, he pauses to look at Jessie's once-grand mansion, now in ruins.
