Bret wins a stolen horse in a poker game that Teddy Roosevelt was supposed to give as a gift to Geronimo to seal a new treaty and the young Congressman is desperate to recover the animal in time. Meanwhile, Tom tries to swing a business deal with several shady operators to build a new ice house using the Red Ox saloon and Maverick's ranch as collateral.

It looks like Maverick is going to be hanged, unless he agrees to sell his life story to an ambitious historian.