Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

Ranger Dave Mannion is deprived of his badge for allowing the notorious Braxton gang to drive diseased cattle past his border patrol. He suspects Eric Prang to be a spy for the gang and sets out to prove it.

The story opens as Stony returns to his home town, only to discover that his sheriff father has been murdered by person or persons unknown. The new sheriff (Henry Brandon) resents the arrival of the Mesquiteers, going so far as to frame Tucson on a murder charge.

Captain Porter's scheme is to buy livestock and then have his men show up later to kill the buyer and retrieve the money. When his men kill the next victim, he frames the Arizonian for the murder. The Arizonian escapes the law and joins up with the outlaw Vasquez. Knowing Porter's scheme, he plans to trap him by using Vasquez as the next buyer.

As Powers is dying he tells Lee to look for a man with a girl named Mitzi. Heading north by dog sled as Curly the Kid, he finds her and her friend Lucky. But Flash is another friend and Lee is in trouble when his true identity becomes known.

The Three Mesquiteers convince a group of settlers to exchange their present property for some which, unbeknownst to our goodguys, is going to be worthless. They are captured before they can warn the ranchers.

A singing entomologist (Roy Rogers) acts meek to help a juggling sheriff (George "Gabby" Hayes) solve ranch raids.

Lambert owns the trucking line that ships cattle to market. When he raises his rates Roy decides to ship the cattle on the River Boat. When Lambert and his men are unable to stop the boat, they rustle the cattle.

A New York radio personality travels to the small town of Fernville to oversee a contest to identify retired safecracker Jimmy Valentine, believed to be living there under an assumed name. The close-knit town of upstanding citizens is understandably upset by this venture, all the moreso when some of its citizens begin to be murdered. The radio personality and the local newspaper's young daughter collaborate on solving the murders while revealing Valentine, who has become one of the suspects.

Having helped his father escape the law, Jim Curtis heads north with the Marshal chasing him. He and his pal Snicker elude the Marshall by changing clothes with two actors. Now forced to do vaudeville skits, Jim finds the man responsible for his and his father's problem working in the same saloon.

Trouble starts when Bill Larkins and his two sons move in with his brother Joe. They start rustling cattle and then kill Rod's father with Joe's gun. The Sheriff and Rod think they did it and are after proof.

"Red" Davison(Buck Jones), the sheriff of Sun Dog, sacrifices his job and his good name to save his best friend, "Silent" Slade from the hangman's noose, following a framed-up court decision which sentences Slade to hang for the murder of "Scotty McKee (J.P. McGowan). Davidson allows Slade to escape from jail and follows him to aid him in proving his innocence.

Roy is a Confederate officer stationed in Missouri during the Civil War. He must put an end to outlaw gangs working under the pretense of service to the Confederacy.

A deputy sets out to prove that a respected judge, who had once been a criminal, is being framed for crimes committed by a crooked saloon owner.

John Drury saves Duke, a wild horse accused of murder, and trains him. When he discovers that the real murderer, a bad guy known as The Hawk, is the town's leading citizen, Drury arrested on a fraudulent charge.

To bring water to their valley, ranchers have raised money to build a dam. When that money is stolen, Allison suggests the ranchers sell their stock to a friend of his thereby getting the money needed to complete the dam. Roy has a clue that Allison was involved in the robbery and is out to get control of the valley. So Roy and the boys try to delay the sale of the stock while they look for proof against Allison.

An Eddie Cantor look-alike organizes an all-star show to help the war effort.

Jerry Johnson inherits a 50,000 acre ranch. Lucky Miller wants to take over the ranch. Roy is trying to get a railroad spur right of way. Lucky has a woman come west to marry Jerry to get control of the ranch. After the wedding, Lucky has the owner killed. Roy’s gun is substituted for the murder weapon, so Roy is put in jail.

Roy is a government man assigned to a case of cattle rustling in the part of the country where he grew up, unaware that the leader of the gang is a woman, in fact an old flame.

Calvin Drake employs a group of low-lifes to drive away land owners along the path of a new railroad; Red Ryder opposes this strategy.