Ken Morton and his pal, Happy Holmes, are headed for Sageville, where they plan to meet up with their friend and partner, Cherokee Jake, who has written them that he has made a big strike. En route, they come upon three men chasing a buckboard and discover that one of its occupants, ranch foreman Sawyer, has been killed, and that the other, rancher Jim Radford, owner of the Circle K, is the latest victim of a series of outlaw raids. Accompanied by Radford's daughter Peggy and the local sheriff, they attend a cattlemen's association meeting at the home of banker John Harper, hoping to learn Cherokee's whereabouts. Harper informs the ranchers that if they leave their ranches now, their outstanding loans would be of greater than the value of their land. As the ranchers protest, Lonesome, one of Radford's men, breaks up the meeting to inform them of the bandits' attack on the Radford ranch. Ken kills one of the bandits and realizes that the snakeskin that he was wearing belonged to Cherokee, whom he assumes has either been killed or kidnapped. Radford offers Ken a job as his ranch foreman, but the cowboy refuses, stating that he must first find Cherokee. In town, outlaws Slade, Bull and Hoke attempt to ambush Ken, but he turns the tables on them and the three are jailed. Slade confesses to Ken that Cherokee is alive and being held prisoner by his boss, Ritter, who is trying to force him to tell where the location of his mine. Hoping that the captured outlaws' horses will lead them to the outlaws' hideout, Ken sets them loose. One horse goes back to the Radford ranch, which leads Happy to believe that Radford is the outlaw boss, despite his pretty daughter. Peggy states that the horse had been stolen a week earlier, and later that night, the horse is stolen once again, and Ken, Lonesome and Happy follow the thief to the hideout. Ken then sends Happy with notes summoning all of the ranchers to the hideout, knowing the one involved with the outlaws will come, while the others will go to the sheriff. Harper arrives, but learning from Ritter that the note is a trap, prepares to torture Cherokee to find out the location of the mine before the posse arrives. Ken captures Harper, then barricades the door when more outlaws arrive, awaiting Happy and the posse. The outlaw gang is captured, and it is then revealed that Harper had been attempting to frighten the ranchers away so that he could buy cheaply the unknown site of Cherokee's mine. When Radford learns that his land is the site of the oil field, he offers Ken and Cherokee a partnership. Ken tells Peggy he is more interested in the ranch foreman's job, and the two stroll off together as Happy and Cherokee argue over the value of the oil field.