Elsie's idea of a real man was a dummy dressed like a cowboy, reckless and wild and woolly. Wallace Carey, a gallant city businessman, rich, attractive, and well dressed, was in love with her, but she wanted a real cowboy for a husband. Elsie departed for the west to visit relatives on a ranch, but Elsie's mother favored Carey, and planned to bring them together. Carey applied at the ranch where Elsie was staying for a job, intimating that he had lost his fortune. He mixed with the cowboys, became a "good fellow," defeating them all at their sports and games, and cut a striking figure on horseback, so that Elsie finally began to believe that she had made a mistake. He rescued Elsie from a perilous situation, and proved himself to be a "man" in every way. So Elsie was won after all by an easterner, who admitted after their engagement that he had not lost his fortune, but was merely playing a part to win her love.