Trouble has been reported in Placerville, where Tom Barton's brother, is the Marshal. Arriving, Tom finds a phoney Marshal in his brother's place. Learning that Clark is behind all the trouble, and that he is after the Madison stage line, Tom joins up with, Mary Madison, to fight Clark, while he also looks for his missing brother.
Roy edits a small town newspaper. A rancher is murdered, and his fortune is inherited by a young boy.
A crusading newspaper editor recruits his old friend Hoppy to take the job of marshal in a town rife with vice and murder directed at helpless miners.
Told in flashback, this is the story of the man that shot Wild Bill Hickok.