Jack Holt stars as Ben Wade, a rancher framed on a robbery charge by crooked lawyer Harkness (Charles Sellon).
Penny arrives in the West by aeroplane. She is considered a suspicious character and thrown into jail. Kurt Walters, a ranch foreman and deputy sheriff, discovers that she is the same girl that his friend, Jo Gary, met in Chicago. Gary fell in love with her, but she confessed she was a thief. Since Penny claims she wants to reform, Walters releases her and sends her to live with Mrs. Kingdon. In spite of her teasing and taunts (or perhaps because of them), Walters finds himself falling in love with Penny.
When the Great Chief's body is placed before the funeral pile by his mourning braves, his sacred blanket is covered over it and a sentinel left to watch that this, his last resting place, is not desecrated. The tribe has just departed for their village when a mountain outlaw appears and succeeds in stealing the blanket, having given the sentinel doctored whiskey. When the Indians discover this they exile the unfaithful sentinel until he can recover the blanket.
After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.
Professor Duane, an ethnologist, and his assistant, Roscoe Harding, plan a journey into the wilds of Hindustan. Harding is in love with Lydia, the daughter of Professor Duane, and they are engaged to be married. Lieutenant Tavish, a British army officer, is attracted to Lydia and plans to take her away from Harding by fair means or foul.
Ranger Job "Blue Streak" McCoy helps a miner and his pretty young daughter who are trying to protect their valuable mine from a gang leader who wants to take it.
An outlaw decides to hang up his guns and lead the "straight" life. His foster son falls for the daughter of a wealthy estate owner. The crooked manager of the estate wants the girl for himself--so he can control the estate when the father dies--and tells the father that the boy is an outlaw's son.
While in Europe, Chaddie Green, a society girl, discovers that she has been left penniless. She returns to the United States and meets Duncan MacKail, who is equally broke though he owns grainland in the West. Duncan and Chaddie are married and go west to homestead. Duncan hires Ollie, a Swedish caretaker, who frightens Chaddie. When business takes Duncan away, Chaddie goes to take care of Percy Woodhouse, an Englishman who has become ill at his place fifteen miles away. Her horse runs away, and she is forced to spend the night there. She sleeps under a wagon, but Duncan is nevertheless angry and jealous.
A minister and his young daughter Bess, journey west where he hopes to regain his health. They become involved with notorious outlaw 'Eagle' Ryan. The outlaw becomes influenced by the power of religion along with Bess's gentle persuasion, he is reformed from his life of crime and forgiven by all the townspeople.
An outlaw calling himself Passin' Through halts his "evil" ways long enough to help out some children in difficulty.
Campbell is disgraced and removed from the service. He saves the girl who was being carried off and rounds up the crooks.
Arizona range rider Lon Gilchrist helps stagecoach passengers fight off attacking Apaches. After rescuing a baby and binding her bleeding forehead with his handkerchief, Lon receives a reward that allows him to buy a ranch. Many years later, the rescued child, Lizzie Mayberry, is a waitress in a cheap restaurant, where she meets Lon, who, now wealthy, courts and marries her. Because he is so busy, Lon has his friend Del Beasley look after her. After a misunderstanding, Lizzie has Del take her to the railway station. Thinking that they left together, Lon pursues them.
Harley Hennage, a gambler, loves Marie but remains silent when he realizes that she is in love with Oliver Corblay, a prospector. After Corblay and Marie marry, Harley moves to the distant town of San Pasqual and does not see his old sweetheart until her husband is killed while staking a claim in the desert.
For Nita Valyez, who is half-Spanish and half-Irish, Carlos represents potential violence and danger, two things to which she is both attracted and repelled. In contrast, she has only a passing interest in Big Jim, the town's honest, good-hearted sheriff. Then, after Carlos kills a faro dealer, he forces Nita to make an escape with him.
As a baby, John Ermine is stolen from a wagon train by the Crow Indians and is adopted by Chief Fire Bear. John grows to manhood, ignorant that he is a white man until his parentage is disclosed to him by Crooked Bear, a white hermit who is on friendly terms with the Crows. Crooked Bear teaches John the language and customs of the white man's civilization, impressing upon him that it is his sacred responsibility to keep peace between the white men and the Indians.
Drifters Tom Williams and Joe Morgan have a chance meeting with the sheriff's daughter and learn that her brother Jim is being held prisoner in Line Hollow by Wolf, who aspires to be the next sheriff. They aid the sheriff in finding the outlaw gang and rescuing Jim. Tom decides to stop drifting and stay near the sheriff's daughter.
A story of greed and lust driven by gold fever. Rapacious Kate Kent abandons her daughter Betty to run off with Tom Romaine, her husband’s killer during the Gold Rush. A quindecinnial later Betty heads to California and partners with Tennessee, a freind of her father’s, in the Golden Princess Mine. Kate and Romaine try and dupe Betty into believing he is Betty’s father to get control of her portion, but Tennessee reveals the truth and after an attempt on their lives all works out as it should.
When a gang of outlaws put Andy Clyde's ranch house under siege, daughter Alice Day recruits college heart throb Ralph Graves to save daddy.
Johnny Arthur has been ordered to spend a year out west to toughen him up, so he and butler George Davis head out. The cowboys at the ranch don't like him, so Johnny and they play practical jokes on each other. However, when Virginia Vance is kidnapped, it turns out to be real desperadoes.
Gambler "On-the Level" Leigh (William S. Hart) is forced to leave his high rolling lifestyle to move his ailing sister Alice (Mildred Harris) to the healing climate the mountains. Financial strain compels him to resume his favored vocation. Unfortunately for Level, the dance hall girl Coralie (Alma Rubens) doesn't take rejection well and convinces the dealer to clean him out with a "cold deck". A desperate robbery ensues, leading to Level wanted for murder!