At the opening of the picture we see an old Southern lawyer's office, where Charles Dickinson and his friends are talking over the probabilities of Andrew Jackson's election to the Presidency, when the suggestion is made that Dickinson, who is a dead shot, draw a challenge from Jackson, and kill him. Dickinson is successful in this, and we see Jackson in his home just before leaving for the duel, admiring a miniature of his wife, which he afterwards places in his breast pocket. On the way to the dueling ground, Dickinson's skill with a pistol is shown by his breaking a glass, and also shooting a card from an innkeeper's hand.