When honest prospector Roy Glennister (John Wayne) gets swindled out of his mine claim, he turns to seductive saloon singer Cherry Malotte (Marlene Dietrich) for assistance in his battle with no-good town kingpin Alexander McNamara.
Pennsylvania, 1859. Railroad tycoon Brenna is muscling in on oil-drilling farmers, led by Peter Cortland. Cortland must try to save their oil business, while also saving his marriage.