Lee Preston, aka Leland Bruce (Robert Lowery), kills a man in self defense but flees to the redwood country when the law makes it a murder charge. There he meets Lynn O'Malley (Helen Gilbert, the niece of "Sandy" McTavish (William Farnum) who runs the trading post. Lee learns the reason why this is good trapping country is because the timber barons across the lake are ruthlessly cutting the trees and driving the animals across the river. The trappers appeal to him to take a petition to the Governor which would prohibit the timber people from coming to their side of the lake. At first, because he is a wanted man, he refuses but does so later for the sake of the people even though he knows it will lead to his arrest.