While forging horseshoes for his ornery stallion Cap’n Kidd, Breckinridge Elkins is approached by his mischievous brother John, who pretends to be injured after Breck hits his foot with a hammer. John tricks Breck into traveling to Cougar Paw to collect a supposed debt from a man named Bill Santry. Upon arriving, Breck unknowingly provokes a town-wide brawl when Santry fulfills his promise—not of payment, but of a brutal beating due to a grudge against John.

After laying waste to half the town, Breck is arrested but later offered a chance at freedom if he defeats a “wild man from Texas” who’s tearing up the local saloon. The wild man turns out to be his cousin, Bearfield Buckner. Their family reunion quickly devolves into a legendary fight that destroys the mayor’s store, saloon, and house. Breck eventually knocks out Bearfield, escapes town under gunfire, and sets out for a romantic rendezvous with a local girl, Joan—only to discover she’s Bill Santry’s sister. When Santry identifies Breck as the source of his injuries, Joan turns on Breck and opens fire.

Battered and heartbroken, Breck rides back home, only to find John hale and healthy. The whole ordeal was a prank based on an old horse trade gone wrong. Breck delivers poetic justice by re-breaking John's supposedly injured toe and rides off in wounded dignity.