In the 19th century, Ricardo (Frank Sinatra) is a hotel keeper in Spanish-ruled California. But his father did something decidedly different, once masquerading as an outlaw called the "Kissing Bandit" because he planted a smooch on women after robbing them. Ricardo doesn't know this, though, until his dad's former partner, Chico (J. Carrol Naish), finds the young man and tells him the story, eventually getting Ricardo to follow in his dad's footsteps and become an outlaw.