Although Neil Gibson enjoys a reputation as a rodeo star, his cattle baron father disapproves of his lifestyle and considers him the family "black sheep." While an undaunted Neil tries to haul his sister's boyfriend, Bert Kendall, out of the Chicago saloon he drunkenly frequents, Bert begins to insult the other patrons. Soon a brawl breaks out, and Bert and Neil are knocked out and thrown into a moving coal car. The next morning, they find themselves stranded at a Western ranch, which is run by pretty Ann Ware, who hires them as cowhands. Ann and her father Adam, who are unaware of Neil's identity, struggle to keep the financially troubled ranch out of the grasp of Neil's father, but are unable to pay their cowboys' wages. Spurred on by foreman Dorgan, the hands threaten to quit before the roundup but are temporarily pacified by the even-handed cowboy from the city. Ann, impressed by Neil's abilities, makes him foreman after Dorgan is forced out, and Neil promises to deliver the cattle on time and save the ranch from the greedy manipulations of Thomas Stark, his father's crooked partner. In cahoots with Stark and eager for revenge, Dorgan first steals the Wares's cattle, then ambushes Bert and the payroll Bert personally has financed. Stark's discontented accountant, however, returns the money in time to pay the hands and deliver the cattle, and Neil, after beating up Stark and liberating Bert, confronts his now-wise father. His family problems solved, Neil then proposes to Ann.
