Gang leader Arn Tinker gives 19-year-old gang member Whitey false information about their next robbery. Whitey winds up kidnapping Dulcey, promising her a safe return only after Tinker is arrested and hanged for his past crimes.

Marshal Crown and his posse thwart a payroll robbery and capture or kill all the entire outlaw gang. The leader is sentenced to ten years in territorial prison, but Crown can't gather enough evidence to charge the youngest member. When the youth decides to stay in Cimarron, the marshal arranges for him to work with an reclusive horse trainer and the youngster takes to both the job and his new boss. His new loyalty is put to the test when the gang leader escapes from jail and returns to Cimarron seeking revenge.

While escorting a man to his trial in New Mexico, Crown is attacked by a pair of outlaws and stripped of his badge and identification. While chasing the escapee, the pursuer becomes the pursued when a vengeful posse and a grizzled bounty hunter mistake Crown for a killer.