Vicky Hoskins, an eastern girl with story writing ambitions, goes west to get local color for a story. Tom, foreman of John Hicks' ranch, plans to joke the eastern girl. With cowboys, Tom rigs up a dummy, proceeds to hang it to a tree and tells Vicky that they were merely hanging a story writer who happened to come to the ranch, and Vicky nearly collapses with fright. Vicky decides to make love to Tom just to see how he acts, and so that she can tell what to do with her hero in her western story. John Hicks, the ranch owner, discovers Vicky's plot and tells Tom. Then Hicks and the boys accuse Vicky of trifling with Tom's affections. A stranger, who looks exceedingly seedy, approaches and he is asked to perform a supposed marriage ceremony between Tom and Vicky. Too late the boys discover that the stranger is a real clergyman, and that the matrimonial ties are binding. Later, however, Tom finds a means to cause Vicky to become content with her lot.