George Kirby steals a mining claim from Tom Curtis and forces him to become an outlaw. Years later, Curtis comes to the rescue when Anne Kirby is kidnapped by real outlaws, but when he finds out she is married to his enemy, he decides to hold her captive.
Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were needlessly amputated after an accident, becomes a vicious criminal, and eventually mob leader of the San Francisco underworld.
An orphan boy from the Kentucky hills joins the Union Army and rescues his adopted family from Morgan's raiders. He learns his real identity when he returns after the war.