Rancher Brad Barton instructs his men to kill his half-brother, Bill Ryan, when he rides through a nearby pass. The wounded Ryan falls into a lake, and when he does not resurface, Barton's men report that they have carried out their orders. Barton now acts to place into effect a forged will, which names himself the sole heir. After the reading of the will, Ryan's daughter Robin and young son Freckles, who do not believe that their father would disown them in favor of the half-brother whom he disliked, refuse to leave the Ryan ranch. Although Barton's men drive away her cattle and cowhands, Robin, who is a crack shot, prevents Barton's lawyer, Alton Small, from dislodging her and Freckles from the ranch. Barton plans to use the stolen cattle to pay off his debts to a man named Scott, who lives across the border in Mexico. In the midst of the conflict between Barton and the Ryans, cowhands Eddie and Soapy arrive at the Ryan ranch, despite efforts by Barton's men to drive them away. They offer their help to Robin, who explains her situation to them. Later, Freckles leads Soapy and Eddie to the canyon where Barton has hidden the cattle, and the two cowboys drive the herd back to the ranch. When Barton brings the sheriff to help him reclaim the cattle, Eddie insists that the cattle belong to him and shows the sheriff a bill of sale from Ryan. The sheriff then refuses to throw the Ryans off the property until Small obtains a court order. Because of the bill of sale, Robin now doubts Eddie's motives for helping her and orders him to leave the ranch. Meanwhile, Scott sends his henchman Gringo to pick up the cattle that Barton has promised him, and Barton decides to use Gringo to kill Eddie. The next morning, Eddie tells Soapy that the local U.S. Marshal has asked him to try to discover who in the area is buying stolen stock. After they leave the Ryan ranch, Eddie and Soapy are approached by one of Barton's men, who suggests that Eddie sell his cattle to a man in Mexico. Although he suspects a trap, Eddie decides to go along with the proposal for his own purposes. Riding ahead of Soapy, who is driving the cattle, Eddie spots Gringo waiting to kill him. Eddie questions him about Barton and then persuades the outlaw to go straight and work with him to bring Barton to justice. Meanwhile, Robin and Freckles are captured by Barton's men. By threatening the Ryans, Barton's men coerce Eddie and Soapy into returning to Barton's ranch. The sheriff then arrests Eddie for Ryan's murder, but Ryan appears at the ranch and accuses Barton of attempted murder. After the ensuing shootout, the sheriff arrests Small, Barton and his men. Ryan explains that he requested help from the marshal after some of his cattle were rustled. He was on his way to meet Eddie when he was shot, and Eddie found him and hid him until the rustlers could be captured.
