A young man is chosen by a magazine company to be a modeled into a public heart-throb while being dogged by a persistant reporter out to expose the fraud the company is putting out.

Based on the novel by Friedrich Gerstäcker, the film, set entirely in the state of Arkansas, tells of the conflict of interests between the local townspeople and homesteaders on the surrounding land, miners arriving during the gold rush, cowboys and cattle thieves who cause problems in the area, and the native tribes of the region. Two adventurers arrive in town and try to restore peace to it and its inhabitants.

A little boy is abducted by ruthless bandit gang leader El Cachal after Cachal and his men butcher the boy's family with the exception of his father. Johnny Ashley, the gunslinger father of the boy, goes searching for his son. Alas, the boy has grown up to be a mean and vicious criminal.