It’s set in 1896. Jeff Webster (James Stewart) and his mother-hen chattering partner Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan) dream of buying a small ranch in Utah and settling down. To do this they are driving their cattle to market from Wyoming to Seattle to Canada to take advantage of the gold-crazy boom towns there that pay top dollar for beef. When they arrive in Skagway, Alaska, to sell their cattle the corrupt affable judge/sheriff of the town Gannon (John McIntire) brings Jeff to trial for the murder of two cowboys who tried to steal his herd and the bogus trial, held in the saloon owned by the sexy Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman), ends in the acquittal of Jeff of the murder charges but Gannon steals the cattle on the excuse he was disturbing the peace. Jeff turns down a job offer to be a deputy for the venal Gannon and accepts an offer from Ronda to transport her equipment to her new saloon address in the gold rush settlement of Dawson. He does so knowing Gannon is transporting the herd stolen from on him on a nearby route. On a ruse, Jeff steals back his herd and takes them to Canada. In Dawson, Ronda outbids the other buyers to buy Jeff’s herd and her saloon business booms as a result. Jeff and his partner soon become successful as miners, but when law and order breaks down the selfish Jeff is asked to become a sheriff and clear up things but selfishly refuses. It leads to Ben being killed by Gannon’s men and their gold stolen when they try to leave town. Things come to head when the villainous claim-jumper Gannon and Jeff must confront each other.

Corinne Calvet plays the homespun, tomboyish, freckle-faced, French-Canadian lass who falls for Stewart and is up against the more tough-minded worldly woman Ruth Roman for his attention. Jay C. Flippen is Stewart’s good-natured, drunken partner, and serves as comic relief; his tragic death becomes the source of Stewart’s repentance for his selfishness.