King Calhoun, a wandering cowpuncher, settles down on the Bar M Ranch after a vain attempt to save its owner from death at the hands of rustlers. Fred Randall, the owner's son, is then ambushed. Before he dies, Fred makes King promise to marry his girl, Maisee Lee, an orphan, but King vows to himself to get Fred's killer first. Ben Snaith, an influential and respected rancher, who is also after Maisee's hand, convinces the sheriff that King is Lefty, a wanted killer. King escapes from the sheriff's posse by using ventriloquism. Snaith, however, is finally exposed as Lefty and is captured with help of local Pueblo Indians. King, in the end, decides to keep his promise to Fred.
—AFI