 Thirteen-year-old Melissa Hendrix (Kathy Frye) runs away from school to return to her ranch near Mesa City. Her family friend Johnny Mack (Johnny Mack Brown)meets her stage coach, on which Maggie Flynn (Lynne Carver), on her way to become a faro dealer at Hudson s saloon, is also a passenger. Melisssa s guardian, Bodie Clark (Raymond Hatton), refuses the offer by Jim Hudson (Douglas Evans)to buy Melissa s ranch, which contains valuable water rights for the whole basin. Bodie threatens Hudson s lawyer, Anderson (Milburn Morante), when he accuses Bodie of holding onto the ranch for selfish reasons. Bodie and rancher Laswell (Ted Adams) hear gunshots, and Bodie finds Anderson dead in the bunkhouse. Hudson and Blake (Steve Clark) accuse Bodie of the murder and have him jailed. After being threatned by Hudson s men, Curtin (Zon Murray) and Wright (Bob Woodward as Robert D. Woodward), Laswell refuses to clear Bodie at his trial by revealing he was oustide with him when they heard the shots, and Bodie is found guilty. Johnny rescues Laswell from the outlaws and kills Wright in a gun duel. Hudson s attempt to get a mob to hang Bodie backfires when Johnny arrives in time with Laswell, who now admits the truth. The outlaws are apprehended and Maggie convinces Melissa that she should go back to school.