In 1889 the Cherokee Strip is opened to homesteaders, and Don Carver, one of the self-styled "tumbleweeds" and range boss of the Box K Ranch, finds himself out of a job. He meets and falls in love with Molly Lassiter, who belongs to one of the many families of homesteaders who have gathered in Caldwell, Kansas, for the big land rush. Don decides to sign up for a piece of land and hopes to claim the site of the Box K ranch house, which controls the water for the strip. Molly's evil half-brother, Noll, and Bill Freel, Don's rival for Molly's hand, conspire to have Don arrested as a "sooner" when he tries to round up some stray cattle in the Strip. Don breaks out of the stockade to join the rush, but he finds Noll and Freel already at the ranch house when he arrives. Don evicts them, and troopers arrive and arrest the two as "sooners." Molly finally consents to be Don's wife.
