 The sheriff (Johnny Mack Brown) - a cattleman at heart, but pledged to follow the law - is caught in the crossfire between the resident ranchers and the incoming homesteaders, made even worse when instigator Dunham (James Blaine) has his henchmen kill the homesteader leader Preston (Murdock MacQuarrie), wound the head of the cattlemen, Winchester Thompson (William Gould), and leaves the sheriff, whom both sides mistrust by now, to settle the escalated conflict.