Bat's lucrative contract to build a railroad in Colorado is in jeopardy. His crew is menaced by natural disasters and then wagon loads of equipment are lost. Just when things it seems things can't get worse, Bat is arrested for murder.

Bat's plan to journey to Cheyenne for a big poker game are disrupted when the cavalry escort for a vital load of gunpowder is wiped out and the only men available to drive the wagons to the supply starved Fort Stewart appear unreliable.