Plot

Thad Lawson arrives in Oak Valley to avenge the murder of his brother, the local sheriff. He learns that Jack Rand, powerful overlord of the town is to blame. After Rand murders newspaper publisher Jordan Webster, Thad sets out to put him behind bars.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

From his Square Deal Saloon, Jack Rand rules Oak Valley, having murdered Sheriff Dan Lawson and newspaperman Jordan Webster, the two men who opposed him. Jordan's daughter Betty and Silver, an eleven-year-old "printer's devil," carry on the paper's opposition to Rand, even though their lives are threatened by frequent raids. Little time remains before the upcoming election, and Rand's tool, Jim Hanley, is the only candidate for sheriff. Unknown to the citizenry of Oak Valley, Thad Lawson, Dan's brother, has planted Bob and the Sons of the Pioneers in Rand's saloon as entertainers and later joins them, posing as a gambler. After finding evidence that links Rand, Hanley and Dirk Hogan to the robbery of the Aztec mine office, Bob decides to oppose Hanley for sheriff. Through a decoy message, Thad lures Hanley to a deserted shack, where he forces him to write a confession implicating Rand in the murders of Dan and Webster. While Betty and Thad ride to town to print the confession for distribution to the ranchers, Dirk, who has witnessed the proceedings, returns to the shack with Rand's henchmen, overpowers the guards and frees Hanley. Meanwhile, back in town, Thad confronts Rand with the printed confession and announces that he has come to avenge the death of his brother. In the ensuing fight, Thad escapes through an open window and takes refuge at the newspaper office, where voters lined up at the polls join in the brawl. The arrival of Bob and the Sons of the Pioneers, each leading a group of ranchers coming to town to vote, puts an end to the battle when the ranchers open fire as the outlaws storm the newspaper office. With victory in sight, Thad runs across the street to the saloon and finds Rand looting the vault. After a grueling fight, Thad overpowers Rand and turns him over to Bob as his first prisoner.