In the town of Laramie City, Frank Stoner is appointed sheriff to deal with the growing problem of gold theft and the murders that accompany it. Outside the sheriff's office, outlaw Gil Santos waits with his gang members Kramer, Moyer and Jeff Winters while fellow member Sunset Carson, known as The El Paso Kid, sets up a job by giving money to banker Ed Lowry to store in his safe. When Lowry opens the bank safe, Santos' gang bursts in, steals the money and kills Lowry. Sunset follows the gang to their hideout, where he realizes that his friend Jeff was shot during the robbery and Santos is making no effort to save him. Enraged, Sunset pulls his gun on Santos, takes his money and leaves with Jeff. Jeff urges Sunset to quit crime, noting that this was only his first job, but Sunset feels that he is already doomed to life as an outlaw. The next day, they watch from the hills as Santos and his men ambush a stage carrying gold, and then attack Santos to steal the gold from him. The driverless stage runs away and Sunset chases it as Jeff tricks Santos into believing there is an entire posse after them. Meanwhile, Frank's headstrong daughter Sally watches the scene from the hills and, when Sunset catches the stage, assumes he is a hero who has saved their gold. As she rides down to thank him, Jeff collapses and Sunset, upon hearing that Sally's father is the sheriff, does not dare not attack her but instead accepts a ride into town with her. There, the doctor cares for Jeff, and Sally, who is attracted to Sunset, insists that Jeff recover at her house. Minutes later, Frank asks Sunset to act as deputy to help catch Santos' gang, but Sunset hesitates to agree. After a few days at Sally's house, however, Santos sends for Sunset and orders him to take the deputy job and help them steal the gold, or else he will reveal to the sheriff that Sunset is actually The El Paso Kid. Sunset reluctantly agrees and returns to tell Frank and Sally he will take the job, but as they rejoice, Sunset whispers to Jeff that he will not kowtow to Santos' demands. The next day, Sunset and Jeff, as deputies, drive a shipment of gold out of town and foil Santos' plan to stop them along the route and take the gold, after which Sunset tells Jeff that he will steal the next gold shipment for himself. At a party that night, however, Santos forces Sunset to lead his men past the bank guards so they can rob the safe, and when the gang rides off with Sunset in tow, the town believes that Sunset has planned the robbery. While a posse forms to follow the outlaws, Sunset breaks free of the gang in the hills and pretends to be dead so they will leave him behind. He runs to Sally's, and when the posse returns, Sunset purposefully attracts their attention so they will follow him to the gang's hideout and attack. In the ensuing gunfight, Sunset chases down Santos and hands him over to Frank. The sheriff pardons Sunset soon after the reformed outlaw admits his past, and as he is named the new sheriff of Laramie City, Sunset and Sally embrace.