 Clay Webley (Warren Stevens) returns to Florida from the Civil War a hunted man and his brother, Dan Webley (Steve Cochran) agrees to lead him and his wounded friend, Curtis Parker (Robert Cunningham), through the Everglades to the Gulf of Mexico with Cuba as their final destination. The dying man reveals that Clay has murdered a man. The brothers slog through the swamp fighting off alligators, snakes and the plot and come upon a widow (Carole Mathews) and her son (Spencer Fox) whom the Seminoles, who control the Everglades, have allowed to stay. She agrees to let them stay when Clay is bitten by a poisonous snake, and a romance develops between her and Dan, while the recovering Clay plots a few schemes of his own. When the Seminoles discover the presence of the brothers, all are forced to flee through the Everglades with the Seminoles in pursuit.