Jay Price's dying mother tells him his real name is Jack King and gives him a locket as proof. At the King ranch he loses the locket which is found by the foreman. Hoping to regain his proof, he hires on as a ranch hand knowing the foreman is the outlaw known as the Hawk. But trying to prevent the Hawk from rustling cattle, he is captured by the Hawk's men.

A rancher is murdered after discovering that 40 head of his cattle have been rustled. A neighboring family is accused of the crime and flees across the border, then tries to find the real killers to clear their name.

Desperados menace a mining operation.

Kit Cardigan seeks the killer of his father...among other plot threads leading up to the famous historical incident.