Land surveyor Jack Hare arrives from the East to the desert town of White Sage to work on Adam Naab's land, which occupies a large valley. Saloon and gambling hall owner Judson Holderness, who is also a rustler, has been trying for years to convince Naab to sell his land to him, but despite Holderness' threats, Naab staunchly refuses to sell. Naab's son Snap compulsively gambles away his paycheck in Holderness' saloon, and one day, aware of a shipment of horses that Naab is about to sell, Holderness advances Snap credit in exchange for fifty of his father's horses. When Jack enters the saloon, Holderness directs him to the Naab ranch, but orders his henchman, Lefty, to shoot Jack's horse from under him, leaving Jack to perish in the desert. The next morning, while moving their horses, Naab and his ward, Judy, the daughter of his deceased partner, come across Jack staggering in the heat, and Judy nurses him back to health. Later, while Naab and his cowboys camp, Jack begins to fall in love with Judy, whom Naab had hoped Snap would eventually marry. When Holderness and Lefty arrive at the camp and again try to intimidate Naab into selling his land, Jack accuses them of killing his horse, thus sealing their enmity. After Snap finds Judy and Jack together in a mountain cabin and flies into a jealous rage, Naab insists his son and Judy marry immediately. Judy secretly goes to Jack, however, and swears her love, but when Jack confronts Snap, he tries to shoot him. Jack successfully disarms Snap and knocks him out, but when Snap revives, he shoots Jack, mildly wounding him. Judy again retreats to the mountain cabin and finds Holderness and his men, who abduct her. When Snap arrives in pursuit of Judy, Holderness captures him, too. Naab later answers a knock at the door and finds, to his horror, the body of Snap, who has been shot through the heart, and a note attached to him from Holderness stating that he has dropped his initial offer of $40,000 for Naab's land to $5,000. As Naab gathers a posse, Jack goes after Judy and is himself captured. In his saloon, Holderness prepares a note to be pinned to Jack's corpse that states that he is no longer interested in Naab's land. Naab's posse arrives before Holderness can murder Jack, however, and Jack fights him hand-to-hand. When Holderness is about to fell Jack with a whiskey bottle, one of Naab's cowboys shoots him dead. Back at the ranch, Naab gives Judy and Jack his blessing to marry.