The Great American Desert which spreads out across the southwest of the United States, is a harsh land. The California Gold Rush brought thousands of miners westward across the desert seeking their fortune beginning in 1849.Now it's 1866, just after the civil war, and more are going to California. The settlers, farmers, and builders - seeking the dream of a new life. They too must cross the desert. It was often said, "What's in the desert either bites, poisons, stings, or sticks you; and everything else just kills you." Water is scarce, and is the most important necessity in the desert. A person without water will die in three days. But, the most lethal of all dangers of the desert are the Apaches, who are the undisputed rulers of the desert country.Sam Jones is a young man just discharged from the Union Army and traveling to California. When he decides to attempt to rescue a captive from the Apache, he sets off a chain of events that becomes a kill or be killed situation with a band of Apaches. Sam is no stranger to the Apache ways, having lived among them first as a captive himself, then later as a proud warrior. Sam is the Apache Kid - a man of the desert - and a mighty adversary to the Apache.