Vicky pays a visit to her uncle's ranch in the west, and tells the cowboys that she could not love a man who is not an athlete. Tom and Sid, two of the cowboys, thereupon practice physical culture.
Grace, daughter of Jim Jordan, a ranch owner, has just returned from school, and Tom, leader of the Lazy S cowboy outfit, and Centiped Pete, leader of a rival cowboy outfit, fall in love with the girl. They both attire themselves in their best bib and tucker, and head for Grace's home. En route, they stop to settle a strenuous argument, and before the argument is ended, the cowboys of the rival ranches become involved in a free-for-all.
Two sisters race their crazy uncle out to Jaroso, Colorado to rescue their recently deceased grandmother's paintings before their uncle can sell them all.
A settler and his daughter are trying to homestead a plot of land. They are tricked out of the land by a crooked saloon owner, who then shoots the father and makes a play for the daughter. A local cowboy comes to her rescue.
A longstanding friendship between Julius Decker and Joe Billings, neighboring ranchers, is broken by a series of mystifying occurrences, and their relationship ultimately develops into a feud.
Jack Howard, returning from the war, learns that his father, Sheriff Howard, has been killed by an unknown assailant, and he induces the mayor of Gold Strike to swear him in as sheriff.
'Big Boy' Morgan and his friend, invalid Charlie Grey, must overcome the efforts of the villainous Holdbrook to foreclose on the Los Rosas ranch and make off with the beautiful Nora Shea.
O'Day, the terror of Red Gulch, wins the entire stake of a gambler named Granger in a poker game but gives it all to Denver Nell, a dancehall girl, when she tells him her sad story. O'Day later discovers that she has returned the money to Granger, and he decides to reform. He goes to another town, where (now known as Good Deed O'Day) he meets an old friend, a wealthy rancher with whose sister, Mary, he is in love. Snowden takes a trip to Denver and returns with Nell, whom he has married.
Duke Travis returns from the war suffering from shell shock and an inordinate fear of guns. His father, a ranch owner, refuses to accept Duke's disability and considers him a coward.
Partners "Smilin' Bob" Corey and Jim O'Neil are forest rangers sent to peacefully "penetrate" Paradise Valley, which is scheduled to become part of a national park. Although the townspeople are sullen about their presence, they manage to befriend Marie Roselli, an Italian girl whose brother Wolf owns a cattle ranch and from they obtain supplies. Before they; know it, Bob and Jim get caught up in a kidnapping, an illegal logging ring, and a murder.