The ranchers of Whippasaw are outraged when Thomas McCoy, the purchasing agent of the Grantley B. Johnson Packing Co., offers them only $65 per head of cattle rather than the customary $80. Unknown to the ranchers, who are led by Gene Autry, McCoy is a gambler in debt to an Eastern bookie. The bookie has sent his henchmen, Horace Dunston and "The Pigeon," to ensure that McCoy pays up, which McCoy intends to do by pocketing the difference between what he is offering the ranchers and what Johnson has sent him. After telling the cattlemen to stick together, Gene goes to the big city to plead their case to Johnson. While there, Gene accidentally breaks a demo record prepared by Katherine "Kit" Carson and her friend, Jane Oakley, who want Johnson to sponsor them on a radio show. When she meets Johnson, Kit discovers that he is still a cowpoke at heart, and so she lies, telling him that she intends to broadcast a western show from her ranch in Whippasaw. Johnson agrees to visit her ranch, then leaves before seeing Gene. After a fruitless wait, Gene returns home, where he learns that his pal, Frog Millhouse, has rented their ranch to Kit and her troupe of performers. Soon after, when Gene and the ranchers are moving their cattle from McCoy's holding pens, McCoy arranges to have a stunt pilot stampede the animals. Johnson, who has just arrived in town, attempts to help the cowboys round up their herds, and is in turn saved by Gene when he falls from his horse. When Gene, who unwittingly believes that McCoy is taking direct orders from Johnson, blames him for the stampede, Johnson tells Gene that his name is Grantley. Johnson hopes to investigate the situation, and Kit agrees to keep quiet. Kit quickly becomes annoyed with Gene, however, when Johnson assumes that he and his singing friends are part of her troupe and are to be on her radio show. When McCoy repeats his inadequate offer, Johnson convinces the ranchers to move their cattle to the nearest town, despite the potential hardship. McCoy again tries to sabotage their efforts by stampeding the cattle into a train tunnel and sending a train in to kill them, but Gene is able to stop the train in time. One of the ranchers, Dave Crosby, is killed by the stampede, however, and Frog's young brother Tadpole is hurt also. Believing that Johnson knew what was going to happen, Kit reveals his identity to Gene, but Johnson convinces Gene that he is innocent and McCoy is to blame. Using a microphone set up in McCoy's office, Gene obtains evidence of McCoy's guilt, then captures him, Dunston and the Pigeon before they can escape. Soon after, Johnson has bought the cattle for a fair price, and Gene and his friends join Kit's troupe on their radio show.