Drifting into the town of Wind River, Tom Benton witnesses Bob Wallace, a hotheaded young rancher, kill Sam Ellis in self-defense. Ellis, with his partner, Dirk Saunders, the political boss of Wind River, had been attempting to steal the water rights on the Wallace ranch, causing the showdown with Bob. When a group of Saunders' henchmen try to railroad Bob for Ellis' murder, Tom insists that Bob shot in self-defense, and after helping Bob escape, promises his sister Mary that he will have a fair trial. Furious, Saunders orders his hired gun, Montana Smith, to get Tom to change his story or get rid of him. The two meet in a saloon, where Tom, who was reared by Montana after the death of his parents, urges the gunfighter to retire. Under Montana's tutelage, Tom became a notorious gunfighter known as the Tulsa Kid, but gave up his guns for the peaceful ranching life. When Montana refuses to quit working for Saunders and Tom insists upon testifying at Bob's trial, the stage is set for a showdown between the two. At the trial Tom wins Bob's acquittal, and casts suspicion upon Saunders. Bent on revenge, Saunders offers a $500 reward for Tom's life and orders Montana to help track him down. When Montana and Tom discover that they are pitted against each other, Montana urges Tom to leave town, while Tom urges Montana to join the forces of law and order. A showdown is triggered when Saunders' men murder some of Bob's ranch hands and Bob demands a shootout with Saunders, who designates Montana as his representative. Learning of Bob's plan, Tom substitutes himself for the rancher and meets his foster father in a deadly encounter. Each is reluctant to shoot the other, and in the ensuing fray, Montana is wounded in the shoulder. Saunders draws his own gun to shoot Tom, but before he can pull the trigger, he is shot dead by Montana. After Saunders' men are brought to justice, Montana is reunited with Tom and decides to give up his career in favor of becoming a grandfather to Tom and Mary's future offspring.