The Bearcat, alias The Singin' Kid, crosses the Rio Grande into Three Pines, singing bloodthirsty verses, but in spite of these, he makes friends with Sheriff Bill Garfield and likewise with Alys May, daughter of cattle rancher John P. May, by saving her from a runaway. As a reward, he gets a job on the ranch and falls in love with Alys, though warned she is engaged to Aitken, her brother's college chum.
A drifter falls for the daughter of a rancher, an alcoholic old coot whose ranch is on some very valuable land. When the old man is found murdered, the drifter is accused of the crime. He didn't do it, but he has to find who the real killer is and clear his name.
Pinto Peters and his pal Chuckwalla Bill ride into town just as the editor of the local newspaper is being urged to leave by a gang of thugs led by Joe Reedly. The pair give the editor $100 and get a bill of sale for the newspaper, only to find out later that Reedly holds a mortgage of $200 against it. This they pay off and start a campaign to clean up the town. They meet with considerable opposition until they enlist the services of Judge Fay.
John Wesley Pringle, adventurer at large, returns home after making his strike and finds his old girl friend, Stella, engaged to Christopher Foy, who is running for sheriff. Pringle foils an attempt by incumbent sheriff Matt Lisner to kill Foy, but when Foy is accused of a murder, Pringle, in a clever ruse, captures Foy, holds the posse at gunpoint, and then releases him, explaining his motive.
Into the town of Broken Buckle rides a stranger who threatens to open a new gambling establishment to rival the one operated by Denver Red and Headlight Whipple. The latter's sister, Zoe, who disapproves of her brother's saloon and is the local schoolteacher and owner of a notions store, tries to interest The Stranger in reforming the vice-ridden community.
Pierre Winton promises to avenge his father's killing at the hands of McGuirk, the bandit. While hunting for McGuirk, Pierre comes upon Mary Brown who has been badly injured in a rock slide. They fall in love, but while attempting to rescue Mary, Pierre is trapped and rendered unconscious in another rock slide. Saved by Jim Boone's band of outlaws, Pierre joins the gang, and Boone's daughter Jackie falls in love with him, but, Pierre still loves Mary, from whom he has been separated.