 Jerry Mason (John Wayne),graduates from college and goes out west, compling with his dying father s last wishes, to live with his father s old partner in the cattle business, Jake Benson(George Hayes.) Jerry finds Jake penniless, his cattle stolen by rustlers, with but one thing to live for, his grand-daughter, Betty (Barbara Sheldon),whom Jake is sending to college. Jerry and Jake open a blacksmith shop in the neighboring town and through a stroke of good luck, a piece of quartz-bearing-gold is removed from the hoof of one of the horses brought in. They find the mine and are successful, but when Jake sells some gold and after depositing the money he is arrested for the attempted murder of banker Williams(Gordon DeMain.)Betty arrives to live with Jake, but before she learns of his whereabouts, Jerry locates the guilty party and Jake is freed. Unwittingly, Jakes signs away his ranch to the man, Harris(Lloyd Whitlock), to whom he is selling his gold and when he refuses to tell the location of the gold mine, he is shot and left to die in the desert. Jerry finds Jake, rescues him and hides him, but Jerry is arrested for the murder of the missing Jake.In order to trap Harris and his men, Jerry says nothing about Jake being alive, as he and Jake have a plan in mind to be sprung at Jerry s trial.