The rancher Jeff Bransford returns to his ancestral acres and finds them heavily mortgaged and about to be foreclosed and is defended by hired men with guns.
Patches, a kind-hearted orphan of the slums, finds life unbearable under the cruel abuse of his stepfather, Old Whiskers, for whose support he is forced to steal. Stowing away in a freight car with his dog, he escapes to a neighboring town where he is given a home by Mrs. Lane, sister of the town judge.
When a circus troupe comes to a small, extremely conservative New England town, the residents go to their minister to have him protest the scandalous fact that the female tightrope walker wears a pair of pink tights. When she has an accident and is forced to recuperate at the minister's house, he has to hide her in order to avoid even more of a scandal. Mazie Darton, a high-wire performer with a traveling circus, longs for a peaceful country life. Forced to stay in a small town while laid up with an injury, Darton is spurned by the conservative townspeople. Rev. Jonathon Meek, the local parson, befriends the circus troupe, especially Darton. But he, too, opens himself to criticism from his flock, who protest his closeness with the show people. Eventually, Darton's boyfriend arrives and the pair become closer. The parson fades from the scene as a possible mate for Darton, who ends up winning the hearts of the townspeople.
Ranger Job "Blue Streak" McCoy helps a miner and his pretty young daughter who are trying to protect their valuable mine from a gang leader who wants to take it.
