The ranchers of Mesa Verde have mortgaged their land to pay for a much needed dam but on the night before the funds are to be turned over as payment for the new dam, the bank safe is robbed. Desperate, the ranchers turn to saloon owner Cash Fenton for the money, who, unknown to the cattlemen, is behind the robbery. Fenton agrees to advance them the funds, providing that the ranchers send their cattle to market by a certain date. If the ranchers fail to meet their deadline, the lien on the dam will revert to Fenton. To make sure that the ranchers do not make the deadline, Fenton orders his henchman Lobo Savage to block the pass out of the valley, and to make it all seem legal, Fenton takes homesteading papers out in Lobo's name. On the appointed day of the cattle drive, the ranchers learn of the blockade, resulting in a showdown between Lobo's men and the ranchers. In the fight, rancher Dan Patterson is wounded after which his daughter Madge urges the ranchers to stampede their cattle through the gap. Madge is opposed by rancher Jeff Strong and the sheriff, who advocate a peaceful solution. At Jeff's suggestion, the sheriff rides to the county seat to verify Lobo's homesteader's rights. While he is gone, Jeff discovers information linking Lobo and Fenton, knowledge which is confirmed when the sheriff reports that Fenton filed the claim. Meanwhile, Madge has succeeded in her plan to stampede the cattle through the pass, and as a thousand hooves thunder through the gap, Lobo and his men retreat to Fenton's saloon, where they are met by an angry band of ranchers led by Jeff. In the ensuing fight, Lobo and Fenton are killed and the rest of the gang is captured. With the stolen money now recovered, the ranchers send their cattle to market and build their dam.
