The story is set in 1889 Wyoming, when the Wyoming Territory was still open to the Homestead Act of 1862.[1] It is narrated by a homesteader's son, Bob Starrett. The original unclaimed land surrounding the Starretts' homestead had been used by a cattle driver named Luke Fletcher before being claimed by Bob's father, Joe Starrett, along with 12 other homesteaders. Fletcher had settled there first, although he could only claim 160 acres (650,000 m2) as a homestead. He wants to expand his herd; homesteads in the area would hinder its growth.[1]
The title character, Shane, is a mysterious stranger who rides into and then out of the lives of the Starrett family, "a man who seemed to come from nowhere and appeared equally determined to pass on to nowhere."[4] He is typically quiet, always silent about his past. He does not wear his gun, and yet everyone seems to understand that he is a dangerous man.[5] Joe Starrett hires Shane as a hand on his farm, and Shane puts aside his handsome Western clothes and buys dungarees. He then helps the homesteaders to avoid intimidation by Fletcher and his men, who try to get them to abandon their farms. With Joe Starrett's leadership and Shane's help, the farmers resist Fletcher. Shane is forced into a gun battle.[1][5]
