The love of Jim Dolan for Grace Wellington incurs the hatred of Ed Jones, who is trying to win the affection of Grace Jones, a foreman on the Brown ranch, and Brown, himself, call upon Dolan and request that he sell his little claim, which is bordering the ranch of Brown. Jim refuses to listen to them and his demands of Jones to keep quiet tend to intensify the latter's anger. Seeing a chance to get even with Jim, Jones puts a malignant motive into effect. One night he steals a number of branded hides from Brown, which he buries on the claim of Jim. He then reports that a number of the hides have been stolen and with the aid of the sheriff discover the missing skins. Jim is arrested and sentenced to ten years in the town calaboose. Grace, believing that there has been foul play, smuggles a saw and a note, which tells him of the relay of horses to help him escape. It is not long before Jim is urging the steeds to great speed. The sheriff and the posse soon discover his flight and are soon upon his trail. When Jim comes to the last relay he makes the alarming discovery that the horse is lame. Breaking his rifle, he runs cautiously to the river, submerges himself and breathes only through the barrel of the gun. His ingenious tactic effectuates his escape from the posse, but he is later captured on the river bank by Apaches, who tie him to the tail of a wild horse as a sort of amusement. He is rescued by a prospector and nursed back to health. Around some supplies that the old prospector has bought in town is wrapped a newspaper stating that Ed Jones, who has been wounded in a saloon fight, confessed that it was he who stole the hides and cast the blame upon Jim Dolan. Jim tells his story to the kind-hearted prospector, and it is not long before he is in the arms of his sweetheart, Grace.