Luke Atkins and Captain Dan Saunders are ranchers in Piute Valley and are at odds with each other over a dam that Atkins is constructing to help the valley people. Their feud does nothing to help the romance of Saunders' son, Sheriff Ron Saunders and Atkins' daughter, Susan . The opposition to the dam that Saunders has led, makes him the prime suspect when the banker who is going to lend Atkins the money for the project is murdered, and Sheriff Saunders is forced to arrest his father. But Steve Brandon, mostly in his guise as the Durango Kid, does a bit of snooping and begins to suspect that the local storekeeper has an interest in more than just selling groceries.