On his way to jail, bandit Tom Tanner (Forrest Tucker) escapes the law and is pursued by Andy Barclay (Randolph Scott), a federal marshal who believes that Tanner will lead him to a stash of stolen gold. Barclay changes horses at the ranch of Karen Galt (Dorothy Malone), planting the seeds of romance before following Tanner to a mine shaft where the stashed loot is hidden. But a gang of outlaws who also want the gold then arrives, forcing Tanner and Barclay to team up and fend them off together.