While heading for her deceased father's New Mexican ranch to hear the reading of his will, Eastern-bred Dorothy "Dottie" Beals and her attorney, George Marsden, are held up and stranded by Joe Currier and his gang of outlaws. Despite Dottie's previous snubbing of him, Robert "Buck" Sawyer, the manager of the ranch, pursues the outlaws and is wounded during a shootout with them. To Dottie's dismay, a clause in her father's will states that to inherit the lucrative ranch she will have to live on it for five years with Buck as manager. Wary of Buck, the greedy Marsden tries to convince Dottie, his reluctant fiancée, that Buck staged the robbery in order to scare her away and claim the ranch for himself. Dottie is attracted to Buck, in spite of her proclaimed loathing of cowboys, and resists Marsden's accusations, until Flash Prescott, a childhood friend of Buck's, arrives at the ranch. Flash has come to buy $10,000 worth of cattle for Currier, and during the transaction, Dottie recognizes his voice from the hold-up and confronts Buck with her finding. Although Buck denies knowledge of Flash's crime, he rushes to warn his friend, who has been reported to the sheriff. At Currier's corral, Buck overwhelms several outlaws and rescues Flash, who was knocked out and tied up by Currier when he refused to participate in his scheme to take Dottie's cattle and steal back the purchase money. After giving Flash instructions to flee to Montana, Buck rides to Dottie's ranch, where Currier and his men are holding her and Marsden at gunpoint. While Buck fights for Dottie's freedom, Flash rides for help on the range. Before Flash and the other cowboys arrive, Buck singlehandedly defeats Currier and his men. For his bravery, Buck receives a kiss from Dottie, who reminds him that, according to her father's will, he is obligated to take care of her for the rest of his life. Buck then sends Flash on his way to Montana.