Three thieves successfully rob the stagecoach carrying miners' wages without anyone noticing. One of the bandits, Cudlip, becomes friends with Ben Novak, the new engineer in charge of transporting the money.
When Ben realizes Cudlip is skilled with weapons, he decides to trust him with the transport of the new wages. Cudlip agrees, but only plans to steal them again without any bloodshed. However, another group of bandits attacks the stagecoach. Thanks to Cudlip and his two accomplices, the wages still reach the town. Cudlip is declared sheriff and is given the responsibility of transporting the extracted silver from the mine. But other bandits, defeated once before, have their eyes on the cargo.
During a festival's confusion, these bandits enter the town, seize women and children from the church, and demand the silver as ransom. Cudlip complies but sets up a barricade on the road to the border, the route the bandits take, leading to their demise. Cudlip then has the chance to escape with the silver but opts for friendship with Ben. He decides to stay on the side of the law after being forced to kill his two inseparable friends who refused to surrender the silver.