Westward the Women

1851. After establishing the settlement of Whitman Valley, California populated solely by frontiersmen, Roy Whitman (John McIntyre) hires experienced trail leader Buck Wyatt (Robert Taylor) to accompany him to Chicago where Whitman will recruit brides for the men, he only guaranteeing the men that the women will be of good moral quality. Wyatt is in charge of all aspects of organizing the wagon train for the return trip, including hiring the other trail riders. Beyond the regular requirements of trail experience for those he hires, Wyatt has one major policy for which he shows he has zero tolerance for anyone breaking it: no touching the women. Of the wide array of women who apply and are ultimately chosen, with whom Wyatt is up front that a good one-third will not survive the trip if the wagon train makes it at all, there are many stories as to their reasons for wanting to be a mail-order bride to a California frontiersman, some of those stories which Whitman, if he knew, may not have included within his definition of upstanding moral quality, and which may cause internal frictions among the women themselves. In addition, only a handful of the women chosen have any experience in frontier life - from knowing how to handle horses and mules, to shoot a firearm with any accuracy - which makes Wyatt's job all the more difficult as the women are required to carry their own weight in the journey, and often do what he has only asked experienced men to do in the past. Beyond the known hazards and risks, an incident occurs at the midway point of the journey making the second half - the naturally more difficult half with mountains and deserts - even more precarious, Wyatt determined to make it at almost any cost as his livelihood as a trail leader is dependent upon it. However, his desire to locate the grave of Jim Quackenbush also factors into his motivations. Another risk that emerges is Wyatt potentially breaking his own "hands-off" policy, as a love-hate relationship develops between him and French mademoiselle Fifi Danon (Denise Darcel), who had her sights set on him as her husband the first time she laid eyes on him.