Marshal Chris Madsen helps newly appointed Judge John Burford escort a wagon of untried prisoners to the town of Beaver Creek, in the heart of Oklahoma's lawless No Man's Land. The lawman and judge aim to establish the territory's first courthouse, but the citizens of Beaver City are used to taking justice into their own hands, and they are deeply suspicious of any official law and order. Madsen and Burford set up a makeshift courtroom inside a rowdy saloon and face down a vigilante posse bent on executing the prisoners before they get their day in court. Years later, gunfighter-turned-reporter Bat Masterson catches up with Judge Burford to find out how he survived the harrowing ordeal and won over the townsfolk.

When outlaw John Wesley Hardin murders a sheriff, hard-charging Texas Ranger John Armstrong teams up with cool-headed police detective Jack Duncan to track down the killer. Armstrong wants to use brute force to squeeze Hardin's location from his family members, but Duncan convinces him to embrace a more cunning approach using methodical investigative techniques. Their teamwork eventually leads them all the way from Texas to Pensacola, Florida, where Hardin is gambling under an alias. With the help of local law enforcement, Armstrong and Duncan track Hardin to a train depot and prepare to take him dead or alive before the train pulls out of the station. Years later, Armstrong shares the story with gunslinger-turned-reporter Bat Masterson and credits Duncan with bringing the outlaw to justice once and for all.