After the death of his aunt, Montague Emerson and his chum, cartoonist Bob Gill, use his inheritance to purchase the Sentinel , the only newspaper in the wild and woolly Western town of Horizon. Monty starts to reform the town by branding Ike Cherry, Horizon's bad man, as an undesirable citizen. Later, he favors the annexation of Horizon to the town of Lewiston, much to the displeasure of Roth, the town boss. Consequently, when Monty falls in love with Roth's daughter Jess, he is met with opposition from her father. Roth's disapproval is short lived, however, when Pete Marillo, the owner of the notorious dance hall and saloon, kidnaps Jess while Roth and his compatriots are torching the Sentinel offices. Monty rescues the girl and wins the gratitude of her father, who then promises to swing the corrupt votes for the consolidation of the two towns.