Plot

A seasoned cowboy takes a young tender-foot under his wing. They become embroiled in a range war, and end up on opposite sides.

After a range war in Texas in which he lost his brother and his ranch, former cattleman Gannon takes a freight train to Kansas. Between Kansas City and Union Wells, Gannon meets Jess Washburn, a tenderfoot from Philadelphia. On the train they witness the murder of the break-man at the hands of an itinerant hobo. In the small town of Union Wells, all those riding the freight train are detained by the local sheriff and his deputies. When Jess is accused of being the murderer, Gannon reveals the identity of the real killer and claims the reward money. Since the reward is to be paid within a few days, Jess and Gannon decide to remain in Union Wells. They lodge at the local cat-house where Gannon knows the lady-owner. Later, they get jobs at the Cross ranch. The ranch is owned by the attractive widow Beth Cross. Her outfit is run by tough foreman Capper. Eventually, both Jess and Gannon will often clash with Capper. During the spare time, Gannon teaches Jess how to be a cowboy, how to dress, how to ride a horse, shoot a revolver and many wise tricks of the trade. Ranch owner Beth Cross sets her sights on Gannon. However, she also plans to invest all her money in cattle and increase her stock by a few thousand extra cattle. This plan panics her neighbors. The range is open but in the view of Beth Cross' plan to bring in more cattle, her neighbor ranchers start installing barbed-wire fences to protect their spreads. The range cannot sustain too many cattle. Beth Cross' outfit runs into frequent conflict with the neighbors and their crews. Sensing a range war, Beth Cross tries to seduce Gannon and asks for his help. But Gannon has bad memories about his own past range war in Texas when he lost everything. Therefore, he urges Beth to sell her ranch and abandon the cattle business. When she refuses, he quits his job and leaves the Cross ranch. The manipulative Beth switches her aim and seduces Jess. He becomes her lover and foreman, after Jess beats the old foreman, Capper, who quits. Jess is ready to lead the Cross outfit, including a few last-minute hired gun-hands, into a full range war with the neighbors, especially against ranchers Campbell and Ivers who are already building barbed-wire fences and have ordered a trainload of extra wire due to arrive the next day. Sensing trouble among the ranchers with the arrival of the barbed-wire consignment, Sheriff Polaski and his deputies, accompanied by a worried Gannon, make their way to the range where the ranchers are ready to install the new wire and where the Cross ranch outfit, led by Jess, is ready to stop them by force.—nufs68