Jesse James (Willard Parker), retired and living under a different name in St. Joseph, Missouri, agrees over the protests of his wife Zee (Barbara Woodell) to join Bob Ford (Jim Bannon) and Sam Wells (Richard Cutting) in a Colorado gold raid. Jesse rounds up gunman Arch Clements (Tom Neal) and demolition expert Elias Hobbs (Wallace Ford). They rendezvous at Ford's saloon in Creede, Colorado, where Ford's girlfriend Kate (Barbara Payton) joins the gang. Sam guesses Ford's plan to double-cross Jesse to collect a reward so, Ford kills him.