A young couple forms uneasy alliances to defeat corruption and prejudice in rural 1880s Colorado.

SYNOPSIS:

In the late 1870s, a young, educated couple from the East move out West to a small town to start a chicken ranch. Unable to have children and considered cursed by the superstitious townsfolk, they adopt a deaf 10-year-old boy who survived the fire that killed his parents. The boy's inherited bauxite mining claim attracts the interest of the local cattle baron, determined to seize it due to advancements in aluminum smelting technology.

The cattle baron sends goons to threaten the boy, leading to a confrontation in which the wife is forced to kill them. The couple disposes of the bodies, but evidence is discovered, and the wife is forced to flee, confessing to the crime to protect her family. She leaves to concoct a plan to deal with the corrupt cattle baron and returns three years later.

Upon her return, the town's attitude shifts. Her husband's martyrdom in defending the town, coupled with the wife's strategic insights, turns the tide. Elected mayor, she leads the town's defense, working closely with the local sheriff and his Native American army buddies who fought against him during the Civil War.

The cattle baron's plan to gain control over the town, cattle, bauxite, and electricity is thwarted by the wife's knowledge and connections, and the town prepares to fight against his hired bandits. With ingenuity, they counter their guerilla tactics, ultimately defeating his forces. Tragedy strikes when the sheriff is killed, but the town's unity and his mother’s strength and bravery prevail.

In the end, her father, a railroad tycoon, and her late husband's father, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, help take down the cattle baron for good. The boy becomes sheriff and takes a small ownership in the mine, embracing the once-hostile town as his home. Together with his mother, they find honor and duty in serving and protecting the community that has come to love and respect them. The story concludes with a sense of justice, redemption, and newfound purpose, with the once-cursed family at the heart of a reinvigorated town.

QUIET CLAIM