While Sheriff Cheyenne Bodie is out of town visiting the widow Cora Ainslie and her son Bart, the bank in town is robbed. A railroad trestle is blown, the telegraph wires cut, a hay wagon burned, and horses ran off at the same time the safe door is blown. $125,000 is stolen which belonged to Thackeray Smith who controls most of the town and surrounding area. After hearing about the robbery, Smith demands action from Cheyenne. He finds evidence that the job may have been committed by men in town but he faces the issue that Smith is hated for running roughshod over everyone. The tactics remind him of Col. Hillary Lee who rode for the Confederacy and many of the men in town were in the Confederate Army. Cora Ainslie tries to make her mortgage payment to Smith but he recognizes the money as coming from the robbery as the notes are brand new. Smith wants her arrested - Cheyenne wants the name of the robbers but she refuses to confess putting Cheyenne in a rough situation.