Defying the Law

Two cowboys, Tex and Jake, travel to Rawhide to visit the Bronco Bar. Along the way, they meet Bill Taylor, a captain in the border patrol working undercover to solve a series of robberies in the area, and they take him in. At the same time, Doris Lane, whose father forces her to work in his saloon, and her friend Edna, a dancer at the saloon, leave town to make it in the city. Tex, Jake and Taylor make camp, but Taylor has tired of the men's company, and borrows a horse and leaves while the other two sleep. When Tex and Jake awaken, they assume Taylor has stolen their packhorse and they swear revenge. On the trail to Rawhide, Taylor meets Doris and Edna and helps them out of a dangerous situation. As Taylor accompanies the women, Jake rides up and flirts with Edna. Taylor makes peace with Jake and Tex and the three men ride into Rawhide with Doris and Edna. At the Bronco Bar, a local, Buck Morgan, takes an immediate disliking to the men, but although he boasts to his boss, Frank Saunders, he is unable to make them leave. Doris and Edna find work at the bar, but Taylor advises them to quit because it is a roughneck hangout. Jim Kenmore, the owner of the bar, is in debt to Saunders for a large sum of money, and although he knows a secret code message that Saunders wants, Kenmore is forced to give up his saloon to Saunders, and fires Doris and Edna. As payment, Kenmore gives the women a ring and a sealed envelope to be given to Taylor. Buck sees Kenmore hand Doris and Edna the note and after he threatens them, they turn to Taylor for help. Taylor takes the message, and unable to translate the code from its Mexican language, he sends it with Jake to the Customhouse headquarters in Calexico for translation. Doris and Edna hide out at Taylor's cabin. Jake runs into one of Saunder's henchmen, who tricks him and takes him to see Saunders. Jake will not tell Saunders anything about the message, or where it and the women are hidden, so Saunders has one of his men torture Jake. Saunders and Buck find Doris and Edna and threaten them, but before they can carry out their threats, Taylor rides up. Saunders leaves, but drops something which belongs to Jake, and Taylor, suspicious that something has happened to Jake, has the women go for the sheriff while he goes after Saunders. Taylor is captured by Saunders' men and is imprisoned with Jake. A guard overhears Jake tell part of the message to Taylor and the guard tells Saunders that Steve Camarillo is sending a string of horses across the border at two o'clock. Saunders leaves to hijack the shipment of horses, not knowing that the real treasure, a buckboard of diamonds, will cross the border one-half hour after his planned hijacking. Jake and Taylor escape their prison and follow Saunders. Taylor captures Saunders and the sheriff takes Saunders away.