A small town is besieged by a ruthless gang that rustles cattle, robs stores and demands "protection" money, and despite the efforts of courageous newspaper editor Garret, it seems as if the gang cannot be stopped. One afternoon, as two of the gang members are threatening rancher Shorty, they become aware that young Jerry, Garret's son, has overheard their extortion attempts. They are beating Jerry when Jeff Hayes, a wandering gambler, comes to the boy's rescue. After vanquishing the men, Jeff takes Jerry to Garret's office, where he meets Jerry's older sister Betty. They thank him for his help, and he tells them that he is staying in town. Later, as Jeff unloads his gambling tables into the saloon, Jerry admiringly questions him about his profession, but when Betty realizes that Jeff is a gambler, she takes Jerry away and snubs Jeff. Jeff then dismisses two of the gang when they try to collect protection money from him. The saloon bartender, McClure, advises Jeff to pay the gang, because no one knows who the boss is and the gang seems invincible. Soon after, Garret holds a meeting to organize the town's defenses, but a mysterious gunman shoots and wounds him before the meeting can begin. It is not long before the gang terrorizes McClure into closing Jeff's business, and Jeff begins to thwart the gang's robberies in revenge. After the fifth such occurrence, the gang decides to ask Jeff to join them, and two members, Dirk and Blackie, take him to their cave hideout. Jeff accepts their offer, in order to better foil their operation, and so must play along when Brett, the boss's right-hand man, holds Jerry hostage. Later, at the saloon, Jeff quietly informs the sheriff about the gang's upcoming raid on the Carter ranch, after which he tricks Brett into revealing that the boss is Homer Bradley, a prominent townsman and Garret's friend. Bradley tells Brett to kill Jeff during the Carter raid and then sends Jeff to deliver a warning note to Garret about Jerry. Betty, who has organized a group of vigilantes, sees Jeff drop off the note and assumes that he is part of the gang. The next morning, the gang begins the raid, but the sheriff is there with his posse and the gang is routed. Brett and Bradley escape, however, and get Jerry. Jeff is stopped by Betty's vigilantes, who are about to hang him, when the sheriff arrives and tells them that Jeff is an old friend he sent to help them. Jeff then chases after Brett and Bradley, disposes of them and saves Jerry. Betty apologizes to Jeff and all ends happily.