Under Colorado Skies

Jeff Collins, a member of the notorious Marlowe gang, arranges for the gang to rob the bank in Allentown, Colorado, where his sister Julia lives. To conceal his criminal activities from Julia, Jeff writes her that he is living in Denver. Then, one night, Jeff knocks on the back door of the Allentown bank. When Monte Hale, Julia's suitor and a medical student working his way through school as a teller at the bank, opens the door, Jeff knocks him out. Upon regaining consciousness, Monte tries to stop the robbery, and in the ensuing struggle, his gun goes off. Just then, B. F. Worth, the owner of the bank, walks in the front door and is shot and killed by the outlaws. After the robbers escape, Monte is arrested for murder, and to spare Julia, does not mention Jeff's involvement in the crime. On his way to jail, Monte breaks loose and rides out of town. Soon after, on the trail outside Rimrock, Foy Willing and his musical group, who are known as The Riders of the Purple Sage, lose control of their wagon team. After Monte stops the runaway horses, Foy, who has been hired by John "Lucky" Hawkins to revive business at his Rimrock saloon, invites Monte to join the group. In town, as Foy introduces the group's new member to Lucky, word comes that the stage has been attacked and that Julia, a passenger, has been wounded in the crossfire. When Julia is brought into the saloon for treatment, Monte removes a bullet from her shoulder with Lucky's assistance. Sensing that Monte is in trouble, Lucky offers to help and Monte confides that he is covering up for Julia's brother. Marlowe has also been wounded in the robbery, and several of his gang kidnap Monte and take him to their hideout to treat their leader's leg. Worried about contracting gangrene, Marlowe decides to detain Monte, and later that night, Monte tries to convince Jeff to go straight. The next day, Julia, puzzled by Monte's sudden disappearance, relates his predicament to Lucky. Once recovered, Marlowe learns that Lucky, who also owns the local bank, plans to ship the bank's deposits to Denver the following day and forces Monte to join the raid. As the money is being loaded onto a wagon, the gang attacks and Monte foils the robbery by hijacking the wagon and crashing it into a rock. Monte is arrested as a member of the gang and jailed. As an angry mob congregates outside Monte's cell, Lucky enters the jailhouse and fires blank bullets at Monte, who then falls to the floor, feigning death. Lucky's ruse works, and as The Riders of the Purple Sage load Monte's lifeless body into a wagon, the crowd, believing that he is dead, disperses. Once outside of town, Monte climbs out of the wagon and asks Foy to tell Lucky to meet him the next day at Cherry Canyon. Monte then returns to the hideout, where Marlowe, furious about the failed robbery, is about to shoot him when Faro, one of the gang, arrives with news of a big silver strike near town. Experiencing a sudden change of heart, Marlowe welcomes Monte back into the gang. Later, at Cherry Canyon, Monte meets with Julia and Lucky to set a trap for the outlaws. At the saloon, Lucky, pretending to be drunk, blurts out the route to be taken by the silver transport wagons. Faro, overhearing the conversation, hurries to alert Marlowe. The next day, Julia meets Monte to inform him that a posse will be hiding inside the wagons and henceforth, it is imperative that he fire a warning shot before attacking. Faro, who has followed Julia, arrives to capture both her and Monte, but is tackled by Jeff. In the ensuing struggle, Jeff is mortally wounded and Faro killed. As Julia rides to back to town, Jeff dies in Monte's arms, proclaiming that he only entered a life of crime to pay off his gambling debts. Soon after, two members from the Allentown robbery arrive in camp and recognize Monte. When the two begin to pursue him, Monte gallops to the sheriff, who arrests them. As the gang waits at the pass to ambush the wagons, Monte forces his pursuers to drive them into the trap. The gang attacks, and the posse springs out from the wagons. In the ensuing shootout, Monte apprehends the fleeing Marlowe and brings him to justice. Later, as Monte and Julia prepare to leave town, Lucky hands them the keys to his hotel and announces that he plans to go prospecting with his pal Slim. Monte then hands the keys to Foy and bids him farewell.