The plot of The Burning Hills is motivated by revenge, which only a few years earlier had been on the Motion Picture Code's no-no list. Cattleman Trace Jordan (Tab Hunter) seeks retribution for the murder of his brother, killed at the behest of cattle baron Joe Sutton (Ray Teal). Before long, however, it is Jordan who is being pursued by Sutton's henchmen. Accompanying Jordan on his flight is his Anglo-Latino girlfriend Maria Colton (a miscast Natalie Wood). Clearly designed to cash in on the teenaged fan following of Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood, Burning Hills is nonetheless entertaining enough to please even nonfans of the stars. The film is based on a novel by Louis L'Amour.