Young James Whipwell believes there is more to life than working on his father's farm in Indiana. The Civil War has been over for five years, the transcontinental railroad is opening the West, and he wants to be on his own, away from the farm. The conditional offer of a deputy's job in Wyoming convinces him to break with his domineering father and head west. Jimmy boards the westbound Pacific Express in Fort Wayne, the same train that carries Mary Ann Bringham, who is traveling to be reunited with her father, the Marshal, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. When Jimmy meets Mary Ann, their attraction is instantly felt, but when a gang stops the train near Cheyenne, neither Jimmy nor Marshal Bringham can prevent the robbery and the kidnapping of his beautiful new friend.